Hours after Apple announced its partnership with OpenAI on Monday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk criticized the tech giant, calling it an “unacceptable security violation” and threatening to ban all Apple devices from his companies.
In a series of posts on social media platform X, Musk voiced his concerns about user data protection. He described the integration between Apple and OpenAI as “an unacceptable security violation,” stating, “don’t want it.”
“Either stop this creepy spyware or all Apple devices will be banned from the premises of my companies,” Musk declared in response to a post by Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Tim Cook introduced Apple Intelligence for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, touting it as “personal, powerful, and private,” and emphasized its integration into everyday apps. “Introducing Apple Intelligence–our next chapter in AI,” Cook wrote.
Musk further warned, “If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, then Apple devices will be banned at my companies. That is an unacceptable security violation.”
Apple Intelligence, introduced on Monday, is a personal intelligence system for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. It uses Apple silicon to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and leverage personal context to streamline daily tasks.
Questioning the security and privacy implications of AI integration, Musk commented, “It’s patently absurd that Apple isn’t smart enough to make their own AI, yet is somehow capable of ensuring that OpenAI will protect your security & privacy!” He added, “Apple has no clue what’s actually going on once they hand your data over to OpenAI. They’re selling you down the river.”