# Elon Musk's 'OpenAI Is Going To Eat Microsoft Alive' Remark Returns as Microsoft Battles Global Outage > Source: > Published: 2026-11-13 14:00:23+00:00 # Elon Musk's 'OpenAI Is Going To Eat Microsoft Alive' Remark Returns as Microsoft Battles Global Outage ## The disruption affected Outlook, Copilot, Microsoft 365 services and connected AI tools, renewing scrutiny of the evolving Microsoft-OpenAI relationship [Microsoft's global outage](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-365-outage-outlook-teams-copilot-1831955) on 12 November disrupted Outlook, Copilot and Microsoft 365 services, including Teams functions that rely on Exchange Online. As users encountered interruptions, Elon Musk's remark that OpenAI would 'eat Microsoft alive' resurfaced, renewing attention on the companies' partnership and their expanding freedom to compete in artificial intelligence. The comment followed changes to the Microsoft-OpenAI agreement that give the AI company more flexibility to offer its products through other cloud providers, while preserving significant commercial ties between the two firms. ## How Far Did the Microsoft Outage Spread? The disruption began on 12 November, with Microsoft initially reporting problems affecting Exchange Online mailboxes in the Americas. It later warned that users worldwide could experience connectivity issues as the disruption spread across its infrastructure. The effects extended beyond business email. Because several [Microsoft 365 features](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-outlook-outage-exchange-online-teams-1831992) rely on Exchange Online, mailbox problems could also affect calendars, meeting scheduling and other connected workplace functions. Downdetector recorded a peak of 138,058 reports of [Outlook problems in the United States](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-outlook-outage-fixes-fail-worldwide-1832043) at around 1pm EST on 12 November, as users struggled to access their inboxes and send or receive emails. Microsoft said a large number of [servers had unexpectedly become unavailable](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/sabotaged-microsoft-outage-sparks-fears-insider-threat-amid-massive-global-tech-chaos-1832081), shifting additional traffic and pressure on to the remaining infrastructure. 'We're working to safely return them to service,' the company said in an update posted on X. By early Friday, 13 November, Microsoft reported initial improvements in server stability. Affected services remained disrupted as engineers continued working to restore normal operations. The company also said there was [no indication that malicious activity was responsible](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-outlook-outage-cyberattack-microsoft-365-updates-1831963) for the incident. The disruption also affected AI services connected to Microsoft's systems. OpenAI reported elevated errors affecting its Microsoft 365 connector, warning that new connections could fail and connected tools might not work as expected. Anthropic also reported that most requests through its Microsoft 365 connector, including mail, calendar and search tools, were failing. 'This issue is caused by a Microsoft 365 service incident,' the company said in its status update. ## Why Has Musk's 'Eat Microsoft Alive' Warning Resurfaced? Musk made the remark on 7 August 2025, after Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella announced that GPT-5 was being made available across Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot, GitHub Copilot and Azure AI Foundry. 'OpenAI is going to eat Microsoft alive,' Musk responded on X. Nadella replied: 'People have been trying for 50 years and that's the fun of it!' The exchange came as Microsoft was also expanding its work with Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI. On 19 May 2025, Microsoft announced that Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini were available through Azure AI Foundry. ## Is OpenAI Now a Direct Threat to Microsoft? Musk returned to the competition question in November 2025, after OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman discussed the possibility of replacing traditional office productivity tools, including documents, presentations, email and Slack, with AI agents that could work together and escalate important matters to human users. 'As I was saying, OpenAI will compete directly with Microsoft,' Musk wrote on X on 9 November 2025. Under an amended agreement announced on 27 April 2026, OpenAI gained the freedom to offer its products through any cloud provider. Microsoft remained its primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products would continue to launch first on Azure unless Microsoft could not or chose not to support the required capabilities. Microsoft also retained its position as a major shareholder. The agreement maintained OpenAI's revenue-sharing payments to Microsoft through 2030, subject to a total cap, while ending Microsoft's own revenue-sharing payments to OpenAI. The outage has brought renewed attention to Musk's comments, but does not establish that his prediction about Microsoft's future is coming true. The revised agreement preserves significant commercial ties between the companies. © Copyright IBTimes 2026. All rights reserved.