The longstanding feud between OpenAI and Elon Musk has reached a new breaking point after OpenAI announced it will cut off model access to the AI coding tool Cursor. The decision follows SpaceX’s recent sixty billion dollar acquisition of the startup, signaling a complete breakdown in cooperation between the two entities. According to a statement released Friday, OpenAI believes it can no longer trust that SpaceX will adhere to its terms of service, citing a pattern of contract violations across Musk’s various ventures. The proposed shutdown date for these services is set for November 12, 2026, with the company confirming that no future models will be provided to the platform during this wind-down period.
Cursor CEO Michael Truell expressed disappointment over the move on the social media platform X, noting that while OpenAI models account for roughly five percent of their user traffic, the partnership had once been built on mutual trust and neutrality. For years, Cursor operated as an early adopter of OpenAI’s technology, but that relationship appears casualties of the broader war between Sam Altman and Elon Musk. This latest clash is just another chapter in a legal saga that began when Musk sued OpenAI in 2024, alleging that Altman and Greg Brockman betrayed the organization’s original non profit mission by converting it into a for profit powerhouse.
Musk responded to the news with characteristic aggression, taking to X to dismiss the cutoff while doubling down on his accusations that OpenAI leaders stole an open source project. Despite losing his initial lawsuit earlier this year, Musk remains committed to appealing the decision and continuing his public crusade against his former partners. His comments reflect a deep personal animosity that has persisted since he left OpenAI’s board in 2018 following disagreements over the company’s strategic direction and governance.
While OpenAI retreats from Cursor, other players in the artificial intelligence space are moving closer to Musk’s orbit. Rival firm Anthropic has already begun partnering with SpaceX to rent compute capacity and intends to keep providing its Claude models to Cursor users. However, this pivot hasn’t gone unnoticed by industry peers; several tech executives have pointed out Anthropic’s own history of blocking competitors like Windsurf, suggesting that corporate interests often outweigh ideological stances in the race toward massive valuations and upcoming public offerings.
