Elon Musk appears to admit that xAI used OpenAI models to train its own models

While testifying Thursday in federal court, Elon Musk appeared to suggest that his AI lab may have used OpenAI models to train AI Legal battle against the maker of ChatGPT.

Here’s the exchange, as best as WIRED can capture:

OpenAI attorney William Savitt: Do you know what distillation is?

Musk: It means using one AI model to train another AI model.

Savit: Has xAI done that with OpenAI?

Musk: Generally all AI companies (do this).

Savit: So this is yes.

Musk: partially.

Distillation is a technique in which a smaller AI model is trained to mimic the behavior of a larger, more capable model, making it cheaper and faster to run while maintaining much of its performance.

OpenAI’s lawyer, William Savitt, then asked whether OpenAI’s technology had been used in any way to develop xAI.

Savit: Was OpenAI technology used in any way to develop xAI?

Musk: It is standard practice to use other AI systems to validate your AI.

OpenAI and xAI did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

OpenAI is trying to prevent its competitors from mining its AI models, particularly Chinese AI lab DeepSeek. In February 2026 note OpenAI wrote to a House committee that it “has taken steps to protect and harden our models against distillation.” In that memo, OpenAI said it is focused on ensuring there is a playing field “on which China cannot advance authoritarian AI by appropriating and repackaging American innovation.”

The Trump administration has also taken steps to prevent Chinese companies from extracting American AI models. April 2026, Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said note It will share information with American artificial intelligence companies about foreign distillation. Cratesius said in A Share on X “The US government is committed to the free and fair development of artificial intelligence technologies across a competitive ecosystem.”

US AI labs have used each other’s AI models in other ways, to test progress and evaluate safety. But in today’s competitive landscape, some AI companies have completely isolated competing labs. In August 2025, Anthropic blocked OpenAI’s access for its Cloud development models after the company claimed its terms of service had been violated. Recently, Anthropic xAI has cut off the use of its own AI models For coding as well.

In his multi-day interrogation of Musk, Savit questioned Musk about him He tries to take control of OpenAI Hence his quest to defeat the maker of ChatGPT. On Wednesday, Savitt provided emails and texts from 2017 to support a set of questions about whether Musk pressured OpenAI by withholding funding and hiring key researchers.