OpenAI cuts off Cursors AI models, deepening feud with Musk

OpenAI announced on Friday its decision to terminate its partnership with Cursor, the widely used AI coding tool, owned now by SpaceX. This move adds fuel to an ongoing dispute between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk. In a company blog post, OpenAI stated it informed SpaceX of its intent to end the contract by Nov. 12, 2026, the maximum notice period allowed by the agreement.

OpenAI justified the decision as one of trust, citing Musk's companies' history of violating contracts. Specifically, OpenAI highlighted breaches by X and xAI, the latter admitting to violating OpenAI's terms of service under oath earlier this year. OpenAI also explained that their custom agreement with Cursor provided a limited window to cancel following a change of ownership.

The company aimed to maintain as much access as possible for developers despite the tough decision. SpaceX finalized its acquisition of Anysphere, Cursor's startup, this month after a deal announced in June. Musk, on X, expressed indifference to the development, labeling Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman as "untrustworthy" and reiterating his claim that they "stole an open source nonprofit."

Cursor co-founder and now SpaceX executive Michael Truell took a more conciliatory stance, stating that the company was in talks with OpenAI to resolve the issue. Since the announcement, Anthropic, an OpenAI competitor with a partnership with SpaceX, pledged to increase compute support for its Claude models within Cursor. This feud, simmering for years, has been fueled by Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman for $150 billion over the company's shift from its nonprofit roots, which a federal jury dismissed earlier this year.