{"slug": "what-smart-people-are-saying-about-openai-s-apple-is-getting-this-wrong-rebuttal", "title": "What smart people are saying about OpenAI's 'Apple is getting this wrong' rebuttal", "summary": "OpenAI published a blog post on Monday titled 'Apple is getting this wrong,' rebutting Apple's trade-secret lawsuit and accusing the iPhone maker of presenting a misleading account. The post highlighted errors in Apple's legal correspondence and released messages providing context, while Apple sued OpenAI in July alleging that former Apple engineer Chang Liu improperly retained confidential information after joining the AI lab in January. Reactions from Elon Musk, Neil Cybart, Jim Cramer, Todd Dailey, and Harpal Singh ranged from skepticism to support, with Musk writing 'Can't trust OpenAI' and Cybart calling the response 'nonsensical.'", "body_md": "[Become an Insider](/subscription)and start reading now. Have an account? .\n\n[OpenAI is clapping back](https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-hits-back-apple-trade-secret-lawsuit-messages-2026-8) against [Apple's lawsuit](https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-sues-openai-trade-secret-theft-2026-7).\n\nOn Monday, the AI company published a blog post titled \"Apple is getting this wrong,\" accusing the iPhone maker of presenting a misleading account of the events behind its trade-secret lawsuit. OpenAI highlighted what it said were errors in Apple's legal correspondence and released messages that it said provided important context about the dispute.\n\n\"Apple is one of the greatest companies of all time, and built a reputation for obsessing over the smallest details,\" the post says. \"This careless, aggressive and oddly personal lawsuit sadly doesn't live up to that reputation.\"\n\nApple sued OpenAI in July, alleging that the ChatGPT maker benefited from trade secrets taken by former Apple employees. The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Chang Liu, a veteran Apple engineer, improperly retained and accessed confidential company information after leaving for the AI lab in January.\n\nOpenAI — which is trying to develop its [own hardware products](https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-teases-codex-hardware-device-mini-keyboard-controller-2026-6) — previously denied wrongdoing, saying it is not interested in Apple's secrets.\n\nMonday's post takes the AI lab's defense a step further. It said that Apple employees reached out to Liu after he left for OpenAI in January and said Apple is \"failing to properly manage system access when people leave.\"\n\nHere is what smart people are saying about the post:\n\n## Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX\n\nApple is seeking expedited discovery and a preliminary injunction, per Monday [court filings](https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73602437/49/apple-inc-v-liu/). That suggests that the company believes other former employees may have retained or accessed confidential information after joining OpenAI.\n\nElon Musk, the outspoken Tesla and SpaceX CEO who [lost a lawsuit against OpenAI](https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-sam-altman-elon-musk-jury-trial-verdict-2026-5) and its leaders earlier this year, reposted screenshots of Apple's latest court filings on Tuesday.\n\n\"Can't trust OpenAI,\" he [wrote](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2084652192024125768).\n\n## Neil Cybart, Founder of Above Avalon\n\nNeil Cybart, the founder of the independent Apple analysis firm Above Avalon, dismissed OpenAI's response in a post on X.\n\nHe described the post as \"nonsensical\" and accused OpenAI of using the classic \"hey, look over there\" strategy to draw attention away from Apple's central allegations.\n\n\"OpenAI must be really nervous about Apple's trade secret theft lawsuit because this silly attempt at PR spin is nonsensical,\" Cybart wrote.\n\n## Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's \"Mad Money\"\n\nJim Cramer, CNBC's host of \"Mad Money,\" also commented on Apple's preliminary injunction in a post on X.\n\n\"Gloves off,\" he [wrote](https://x.com/jimcramer/status/2084545895966691630).\n\n## Todd Dailey, former Apple enterprise marketing manager\n\nTodd Dailey, a former Apple enterprise marketing manager who spent 22 years at the company according to his LinkedIn, said his own departure made OpenAI's statements about Apple's offboarding problems seem plausible.\n\nOn X, he wrote that he still had two unreleased Apple prototypes.\n\n\"Old Apple wouldn't have let an ex-employee hold a prototype for more than 24 hours and would have sent someone to my door to get it,\" Dailey wrote.\n\nHe said the experience reflected how stretched Apple's employees had become and made it easier to understand how the company's lawyers could have made mistakes in their correspondence with OpenAI.\n\n\"I'm not surprised at all that busy, harried lawyers could make this mistake,\" he wrote.\n\n## Harpal Singh, founder of Blimpp\n\nHarpal Singh, the founder of the generative-engine-optimization platform Blimpp, told Business Insider that OpenAI's post was written to directly contradict Apple's account.\n\nThat tactic, he said, could affect how journalists, search engines, and AI tools describe the lawsuit.\n\n\"OpenAI is not just defending itself in court,\" Singh said. \"It wants to present the narrative that journalists, search engines, and other AI Response Systems will mirror.\"", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/what-smart-people-are-saying-about-openai-s-apple-is-getting-this-wrong-rebuttal", "canonical_source": "https://www.businessinsider.com/smart-people-openai-apple-wrong-rebuttal-2026-8", "published_at": "2026-08-04 18:24:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-04 18:30:22.849381+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "Apple", "Elon Musk", "Neil Cybart", "Jim Cramer", "Todd Dailey", "Harpal Singh", "Chang Liu"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/what-smart-people-are-saying-about-openai-s-apple-is-getting-this-wrong-rebuttal", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/what-smart-people-are-saying-about-openai-s-apple-is-getting-this-wrong-rebuttal.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/what-smart-people-are-saying-about-openai-s-apple-is-getting-this-wrong-rebuttal.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/what-smart-people-are-saying-about-openai-s-apple-is-getting-this-wrong-rebuttal.jsonld"}}