OpenAI says it's ending its deal with Cursor because Elon Musk's companies violate contracts

OpenAI announced it will terminate its contract with Cursor, a coding startup recently acquired by SpaceX. The decision stems from concerns over the conduct of other companies owned by Elon Musk, particularly Twitter, which Musk acquired in 2022 and merged with SpaceX. OpenAI cited Twitter's past violations of its contract terms as the reason for their decision.

Despite not accusing Cursor directly, OpenAI's statement highlighted Musk's history of contract breaches. OpenAI noted that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had previously claimed xAI, Musk's other AI company, had violated OpenAI's terms by using OpenAI's models. OpenAI employs customized contracts with major partners to ensure compliance, and the partnership with Cursor offered a limited window for cancellation post-acquisition.

SpaceX officially acquired Cursor for $60 billion, granting Cursor access to SpaceX's computing resources. Cursor provides users with models from various companies, including OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Luna, Sol, and Terra. The exact impact of the shutdown on Cursor users or models remains unclear. OpenAI emphasized the difficulty of this decision, citing their commitment to making their models accessible to developers while maintaining trust in their service terms.