OpenAI to cut off Cursor after SpaceX takeover

OpenAI plans to stop supplying its models to Cursor, the popular AI coding service now owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Reuters reports that OpenAI has proposed November 12 as the date it will end Cursor’s access, the latest termination date allowed under the companies’ contract. Cursor is still trying to negotiate with OpenAI, but the dispute has already become another front in the long-running conflict between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

OpenAI is able to exit the partnership because Cursor changed hands. SpaceX agreed to acquire Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, for $60 billion in June and completed the deal in August. The contract gives OpenAI a limited period to terminate the relationship following a change of control, and the company has chosen to exercise that option. Cursor itself, after nearly four years of working with OpenAI, has not been accused of breaching the agreement. Instead, OpenAI cited concerns about SpaceX and its previous experience with Musk’s companies.

“We are making this choice because we cannot be confident that SpaceX will use our technology within our terms of service, based on our experience with Elon Musk's companies violating contracts,” the company said.

The company pointed to previous disputes with Musk’s businesses, saying X breached an agreement with OpenAI after Musk acquired the social network. OpenAI also noted that Musk acknowledged under oath that xAI, which is now part of SpaceX, had violated the company’s terms of use. Cursor can continue using OpenAI models until the agreement expires, but it will lose access to future releases, including the upcoming Astra model.

Musk dismissed the decision with “I couldn't care less” and described Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman as “untrustworthy.” Cursor, meanwhile, is unlikely to be left without access to leading third-party models. Within hours of OpenAI’s announcement, Anthropic said it would increase the compute available for Claude in Cursor, even as it continues to do business with SpaceX.