Sam Altman driving Koenigsegg Regera; Musk takes jibe after video surfaces

Musk takes a dig at OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman for driving a $1.9M Koenigsegg Regera. Social media users wonder how a non-profit organisation's CEO could afford it

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was recently seen in a viral video, where he was driving Koenigsegg Regera, one of the world's most exclusive and expensive hypercars. The video stunned social media users and they started wondering how the CEO of a non-profit organisation could afford such an expensive vehicle. 

Elon Musk, who was earlier involved in some legal tussle with the co-founder of OpenAI, Sam Altman, couldn't hold himself from letting loose a sharp response, emphasising their long-standing acrimonious relationship. The comment was made by an account of Tesla Owners Silicon Valley on X that wrote, ''CEO @OpenAI driving one of the most expensive cars. How did Open AI become a for-profit business when it was a non-profit?'' This is something that Musk has been trying to highlight for so long.

In response to the comment, Musk replied, "Great question."

What's the big deal with Altman's car?

The Koenigsegg Regera is a limited-edition sports car, launched by the Swedish automaker Koenigsegg in 2015. He produced only 85 models of this hypercar since its launch and the price of the luxury car is over $1.9 million. The car has even been sold for up to $3.7 billion (Rs 30.7 crore) at recent auctions.

According to the official website, it has a powerful twin-turbo V8 combustion engine with three electric motors and cutting-edge battery power developed with a new powertrain technology called Koenigsegg Direct Drive. The word Ragera means 'to reign' or 'to rule in Swedish.'

Musk and Altman Feud

Musk and Altman first met in Silicon Valley and co-founded OpenAI in 2015, which is a research company that specifically focuses on safe AI. However, Musk disagreed with the direction OpenAI was heading and believed that it strayed from its original goals. Consequently, Musk left the OpenAI board in 2018 after being involved in a public dispute with Altman. The relationship between both of them is strained and they often make comments on each other. In February 2024, Musk even sued Open AI and Altman, accusing them of abandoning the original goals of OpenAI.