Freshly reported messages from inside Tesla show Elon Musk pushing in 2017 to build a rival AI lab as tensions around OpenAI sharpened.

According to reports, messages between Shivon Zilis and Tesla executives outlined plans for a new artificial intelligence effort that could have been led by Sam Altman or Demis Hassabis. The discussions point to a moment when Musk appeared to be looking for another path to influence the direction of advanced AI, outside the structure of OpenAI.

The messages suggest Tesla was not just watching the AI race unfold — it was considering how to build its own center of gravity.

The significance lies in the timing. In 2017, AI had not yet exploded into everyday public debate, but key players already understood that control over talent, compute, and research agendas would define the next phase of the industry. Reports indicate Tesla executives discussed a lab that could compete for both prestige and strategic leverage, with Altman and Hassabis emerging as possible leaders because of their standing in the field.

Key Facts

  • Reported 2017 messages describe plans for a Tesla-linked rival AI lab.
  • Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis appeared as potential leaders in those discussions.
  • The messages involved Shivon Zilis and Tesla executives, according to reports.
  • The disclosures add context to Musk’s long-running efforts to shape AI development.

The reported messages do not show that the project ultimately took shape in the form discussed, but they do reveal how seriously Tesla and Musk weighed the idea. They also deepen the broader picture of an AI sector driven as much by internal power struggles and recruitment battles as by technical breakthroughs. When the same small circle of leaders appears across competing labs and companies, every conversation about who leads what starts to matter more.

What comes next depends on what else emerges from the record and how these discussions fit into the larger history of OpenAI, Tesla, and Musk’s role in both. For readers trying to understand today’s AI power map, this matters because it shows that the fight over governance and influence started years before chatbots became a public obsession — and the industry still runs on those early contests for control.