OpenAI is cutting off AI model access to Cursor after SpaceX acquisition

OpenAI has terminated Cursor's direct access to its AI models following SpaceX's acquisition of Anysphere, the parent company of Cursor. This move comes as part of an intensifying conflict between Elon Musk, who helped found OpenAI, and SpaceX. On August 28, OpenAI informed SpaceX of its intent to end the Cursor contract by November 12, 2026.

OpenAI stated that they cannot be confident SpaceX will adhere to the terms of service. Earlier, Musk admitted that xAI, a SpaceX subsidiary, had violated OpenAI's terms of service. OpenAI will not provide new OpenAI models to Cursor during this transition. Cursor, which offers several AI models, including Claude Fable, Opus, and Sonnet; Gemini 3.1 Pro and Gemini 3.7 Flash; and SpaceXAI's Grok LLMs, has lost one of its prominent AI coding environments.

Cursor CEO Michael Truell downplayed the significance, claiming that OpenAI models only account for about 5% of the platform's user traffic. The termination may affect developers relying on particular OpenAI model behavior or account arrangements, prompting them to migrate or reconfigure before the November deadline. This incident underscores the growing importance of access to leading AI models as competitive leverage in the developer-tools business and highlights how corporate conflicts in the AI industry can disrupt users' AI work.