****

Elon Musk, a renowned figure in the tech world, has recently made headlines due to a public falling out with former ally, President Donald Trump. The high-profile discord, marked by a series of insults and threats on social media, is not an isolated incident. Musk's career is punctuated by numerous contentious departures from both business ventures and colleagues.

One notable split occurred with OpenAI, an artificial intelligence organization Musk co-founded and significantly funded. In 2018, differences led Musk to leave the company, and he subsequently tried to halt OpenAI's restructuring which he claimed diverted from its nonprofit mission. In a turn of events, OpenAI's leaders accused Musk of harassment and spreading misinformation about the company. This dispute has not just been professional but also personal, with Musk making a lowball offer of $97.4 billion to purchase OpenAI’s assets, far below its $157 billion valuation. In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to social media to mockingly offer $9.74 billion for Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), leading Musk to retort with, "Swindler."

Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022, aiming to champion free speech, was another venture fraught with controversy. The deal, worth $44 billion, was financed through a mix of personal wealth, bank loans, and private investments. Initially backed by Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey, the takeover soon saw Dorsey reversing his stance, expressing doubts about Musk's suitability to lead the platform.

The entrepreneur's tenure at Tesla also saw considerable turbulence. Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, original founders of Tesla in 2003, found themselves at odds with Musk, who became chairman in 2004. By 2007, conflicts culminated in Eberhard's forced resignation by a Musk-led board, leading to further legal battles. These disputes concluded with a settlement recognizing Musk as a co-founder but left a bitter taste, with Musk publicly criticizing Eberhard as “by far the worst person I've ever worked with.”

In the early 2000s, Musk’s involvement with PayPal followed a similar pattern. His peers within the company orchestrated his removal as CEO while he was on his honeymoon. This coup was driven by disagreements over Musk’s expansive ambitions for the company, including his desire to incorporate the letter X prominently in its branding. Despite the fallout, Peter Thiel, Musk’s successor at PayPal, later became an investor in SpaceX, showcasing Musk’s ability to sometimes reconcile with former adversaries.

This pattern extends back to Musk's first major venture, Zip2, which he started in the 1990s with his brother and a friend. Clashes with appointed CEO Richard Sorkin nearly derailed the company, which ultimately sold to Compaq Computer in 1999.

Despite reaching out, representatives from OpenAI, Tesla, X, Jupiter Intelligence, Palantir, and Block did not provide comments on these incidents. Eberhard was also unavailable for comment. These episodes collectively underscore Musk’s tendency for conflict within his professional endeavors, painting a complex picture of the tech mogul's relationships with his business associates.