OpenAI has announced the termination of its partnership with Cursor, a coding startup recently acquired by SpaceX, citing concerns about compliance with its terms of service under Elon Musk's ownership. In a statement released on Friday, OpenAI revealed that it will revoke Cursor's access to its models effective November 12.
"This was a difficult decision, as we believe in making our models widely accessible for developers," OpenAI expressed. "However, we lack confidence that SpaceX will adhere to our service terms, given past experiences with Elon Musk’s ventures breaching contracts."
Both OpenAI and SpaceX representatives did not provide comments on the matter promptly.
While OpenAI did not suggest that Cursor itself violated any agreements, it highlighted previous issues with Twitter, another Musk-owned company. Following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022 and its subsequent merger with SpaceX earlier this year, OpenAI referenced reports indicating that Twitter had breached their contract, including an incident where Musk cut off OpenAI's access to Twitter's data. Furthermore, it cited Musk’s testimony earlier this year, where he acknowledged that xAI, another Musk venture, had violated OpenAI’s terms by training its model, Grok, using OpenAI’s output.
OpenAI clarified that it engages in "custom contracts" with major partners like SpaceX to ensure they comply with its terms. The agreement with Cursor included a provision allowing for cancellation following the acquisition.
This month, SpaceX completed the acquisition of Cursor for $60 billion, which grants the startup access to SpaceX's computing resources.
In response to the announcement, Michael Truell, cofounder and ex-CEO of Cursor, expressed disappointment on X, stating, "We regret OpenAI's announcement that they intend to block Cursor users from accessing their models in three months. OpenAI models represent about 5% of our user traffic, and we are in discussions with OpenAI to find a resolution."
Cursor’s innovative AI coding editor integrates various models from different AI firms, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and SpaceXAI. Users of Cursor can currently access models like OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Luna, Sol, and Terra.
Details on the specific Cursor users or models impacted by OpenAI’s decision remain vague, but OpenAI confirmed that it would no longer provide future models to Cursor, including the anticipated Astra model.
This move marks another chapter in the ongoing tension between Musk and OpenAI. In 2024, Musk, one of OpenAI’s co-founders, initiated a lawsuit against the organization and its CEO, Sam Altman, following its transition from a nonprofit research entity to a hybrid for-profit model. A federal jury ruled in May that Musk had delayed too long to file the lawsuit, exceeding the statute of limitations, though he has indicated plans to appeal this ruling.
