Musk and Altman’s AI rivalry reaches boiling point as IPO race heats up
Musk lost his suit against Altman as OpenAI and SpaceX moved closer to huge public listings, intensifying their rivalry over AI and markets.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The Guardian says Musk and Altman’s feud has become a race for IPO dominance, with OpenAI and SpaceX both moving toward massive public listings. The piece frames it as a struggle over not just money, but control of AI’s future.
Two famous tech bosses are trying to win a very big race. One is Elon Musk, and the other is Sam Altman.
Their companies may soon sell pieces of themselves to the public, like sharing slices of a giant pie. One company could be worth so much money that it would be one of the biggest market events ever.
The story matters because these companies help build the tools that many people may use for work and daily life. It is like a few giant chefs deciding what the whole town will eat.
Analysis
The rivalry
The article portrays Elon Musk and Sam Altman as locked in a high-stakes contest that now spans the courtroom and the stock market. Musk lost his lawsuit against Altman, OpenAI and Greg Brockman in Oakland, clearing a legal obstacle for OpenAI to pursue a public listing later this year.
The IPO race
The bigger market story is the rush toward enormous valuations. The Guardian says SpaceX disclosed plans for a $1.75tn IPO on Nasdaq under the symbol SPCX, with a target date around 12 June and a bid to raise up to $80bn. The filing also gave rare visibility into SpaceX’s finances, including heavy spending, losses in early 2026, and major investment into its AI arm, xAI.
The article says OpenAI was also reported by the Wall Street Journal to be moving toward an IPO, potentially as soon as Friday, though it had not filed that day. Anthropic is mentioned as another rumored candidate.
Why markets care
The piece argues that these listings would mark an extraordinary moment for public markets: three AI businesses, each potentially worth hundreds of billions or more, seeking investor capital in the same year. It also notes that SpaceX lists OpenAI and Anthropic among its key competitors, showing how AI competition is now intertwined with capital formation, market valuations and control of a technology seen as economically decisive.
Key points
- Musk lost his lawsuit against Altman, OpenAI and Greg Brockman in Oakland.
- The article says OpenAI may pursue a public listing later in 2026.
- SpaceX disclosed plans for a $1.75tn IPO and sought up to $80bn.
- SpaceX’s filing said it is spending heavily on its AI subsidiary, xAI.
- The piece says a small circle of tech leaders is shaping AI’s future and investor money.
