Musk Fact-Checked on X Over Apple-OpenAI Critique

Elon Musk faced a fact-check on his social media platform, X, after launching a barrage of criticism against Apple regarding its partnership with OpenAI. Musk expressed strong concerns over Apple’s integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot into its devices, going as far as threatening to ban Apple products at his companies due to alleged security risks.

Musk’s criticism emerged shortly after Apple unveiled its AI roadmap, “Apple Intelligence,” at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2024. Musk questioned Apple’s ability to safeguard user data, stating that Apple lacks the expertise to ensure OpenAI’s protection of device security and privacy. He also claimed that Apple would be unaware of what happens to user data once it’s handed over to OpenAI.

In subsequent posts on X, Musk continued to question Apple’s commitment to user privacy and vowed to enforce a policy requiring visitors to his companies, including OpenAI competitor xAI, Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Co., and Neuralink, to leave their Apple devices at the door.

However, by Tuesday morning, several of Musk’s claims had been corrected by X’s Community Notes system, a crowdsourced tool for fact-checking and dispelling misinformation. Users pointed out that Apple’s AI models would primarily operate on-device or locally, with the option for additional computational tasks to be performed on private cloud computing or OpenAI, but this would require user confirmation.

Community Notes also clarified that Apple’s AI roadmap, “Apple Intelligence,” is a product of Apple’s own development, separate from the integration of ChatGPT, which is controlled by the user.

The announcement of Apple’s AI roadmap at WWDC 2024 had been highly anticipated by consumers and analysts, who had long viewed Apple as lagging behind in the AI race. Speculation about a potential partnership with OpenAI and the integration of ChatGPT into products like Siri and the iPhone had been circulating for weeks prior to the event.

Musk’s contentious relationship with OpenAI, which he co-founded and later departed, has been well-documented. He has publicly criticized the company’s approach to AI development and has feuded with its management, including co-founder Sam Altman. Musk has also positioned his startup, xAI, as a competitor to OpenAI, particularly highlighting its chatbot Grok as a rival to ChatGPT. Musk and xAI recently raised $6 billion, valuing the company at $24 billion.

In response to Apple CEO Tim Cook’s post introducing Apple Intelligence, Musk stated, “Don’t want it,” and warned that unless Apple discontinues what he referred to as “creepy spyware,” all Apple devices would be banned from his companies’ premises. Musk has consistently described Apple’s use of OpenAI’s technology as “creepy” and has echoed sentiments suggesting Apple’s decline akin to the end of the Roman Empire.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of $207.9 billion, has surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and LVMH chief Bernard Arnault, who have alternated as the world’s second-richest person, with net worths of $204.4 billion and $200.6 billion respectively. Apple CEO Tim Cook’s net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion, primarily derived from his stake in Apple.