Reid Hoffman has dismissed the idea that he has a personal “beef” with Elon Musk, saying their ongoing feud is one-sided.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, the LinkedIn cofounder and early OpenAI donor said Musk was still bitter over OpenAI’s success after his departure. Musk left OpenAI in early 2018.
“Well, so actually, it’s more his beef with me for having made OpenAI successful with his departure,” Hoffman said. “Because he left saying, you know, ‘You’re all a bunch of jackasses and you’ll fail,’ and I helped them succeed.”
Hoffman added that AI should be developed by those willing to “consult with and deal with other people” — something he said Musk doesn’t do. “That’s not how Elon operates, which anyone who has two eyes can see,” he said.
The latest clash between the two played out over the weekend on X, the social media platform Musk owns. Musk claimed that Hoffman was among several donors funding Tesla protests.
“An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla ‘protests,’” Musk wrote on Saturday, listing Hoffman alongside George Soros and other political donors.
An investigation has found 5 ActBlue-funded groups responsible for Tesla “protests”: Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist, Indivisible Project and Democratic Socialists of America.ActBlue funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman,…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 8, 2025
Hoffman fired back on Monday, calling Musk’s claims false.
“Just one more of Elon’s false claims about me: I never funded anyone for Tesla protests,” Hoffman replied in a Monday X post. “I don’t condone violence. But it’s clear Americans are angry at him—it’s easier to explain away their anger than to accept that actions have consequences.”Musk replied: “Describe your favorite island vacation.”
Hoffman shot back with a graph of Tesla’s stock price decline, writing: “I don’t know about islands but here’s your least favorite mountain.”
I don’t know about islands but here’s your least favorite mountain https://t.co/C89IkVZFU8 pic.twitter.com/cPeBMECvG8
— Reid Hoffman (@reidhoffman) March 10, 2025
Tesla stock closed down 15% on Monday, dragging Musk’s net worth down by $29 billion — a 6.7% drop in a single day. Despite the hit, Musk remains the world’s richest person.
Hoffman and Musk were both early OpenAI backers. Hoffman, who remained a supporter of OpenAI after Musk’s departure, has been a vocal critic of Musk’s actions. In September 2024, he dismissed Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI as “sour grapes,” suggesting Musk was frustrated by the company’s success without him.
Last month, Musk led a $97.4 billion bid to take control of OpenAI, which the company’s board swiftly rejected.
Musk and Hoffman did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
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