OpenAI Cuts Cursor Off After Musk’s SpaceX Takes Control

OpenAI Cuts Cursor Off After Musk’s SpaceX Takes Control
OpenAI casts the split as a contract-and-safety safeguard after Cursor’s change in ownership; Cursor sees a long-standing partnership and a problem to be solved, while Musk’s orbit points toward a rival model supplier.

The rupture followed SpaceX’s $60 billion acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor on Aug. 14. OpenAI said it had notified SpaceX that it intended to wind down the model-access contract, using the maximum notice allowed and setting a proposed shutoff date of Nov. 12, 2026.

The company said the decision was “incredibly tough,” given its goal of broad developer access. But it argued that previous dealings with Musk’s companies left it unable to trust SpaceX to operate within its terms of service. OpenAI pointed to Twitter, now within SpaceX, allegedly breaking a prior contract, and said Musk acknowledged under oath that xAI had violated OpenAI’s terms. It also said forthcoming models, including Astra, raise the stakes for enforcing safeguards.

Cursor CEO Michael Truell struck a more conciliatory note Friday night. “OpenAI models serve about 5% of Cursor user traffic, and we’re speaking with the OpenAI team to resolve this,” he said, describing Cursor as an early OpenAI customer that had trusted the platform to be neutral infrastructure. OpenAI said it respected Cursor’s team and would support developers through the transition, but also said it would not supply future models during the wind-down.

The fight lands in a broader feud between Musk and OpenAI’s leadership, rooted in his failed lawsuit over the company’s shift from its nonprofit origins. It also exposes a sharp commercial contrast: Anthropic says it will keep expanding compute for Claude inside Cursor under SpaceX. Musk amplified that message with two rocket emojis.

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