Key Takeaways
- After OpenAI said the “OpenAI tokens” don’t represent real equity, Elon Musk replied by calling OpenAI’s actual equity fake.
- Musk has repeatedly and publicly criticized OpenAI’s profit model and transparency.
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OpenAI’s key early backer Elon Musk reacted to the company’s recent warning that “OpenAI tokens,” apparently linked to Robinhood’s stock token giveaway, do not represent equity.
The tech mogul said the OpenAI equity is fake, while staying silent on Robinhood’s stock tokens, which also include ones offering indirect exposure to SpaceX, the company he leads.
Your “equity” is fake
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 2, 2025
Musk’s comment likely reinforced his ongoing critique of OpenAI’s corporate structure. He has repeatedly voiced criticism since the company shifted from a nonprofit to a for-profit model.
The CEO of Tesla has long argued that the transition violated its founding principles. He has accused OpenAI of drifting from its original mission of public benefit and openness, raising concerns about OpenAI prioritizing commercial partnerships and investor returns over transparency and the public good.
Technically, they are not equities
In response to OpenAI’s earlier statement, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev clarified that stock token giveaways are not technically equity. Still, they provide retail investors with effective exposure to private assets.
“Our giveaway plants a seed for something much bigger, and since our announcement we’ve been hearing from many private companies that are eager to join us in the tokenization revolution,” Tenev noted.
Robinhood has joined a number of industry players like Kraken and Bybit to enable non-US investors to trade tokenized versions of numerous US stocks. The platform’s stock and ETF tokens are exclusively accessible to European investors.
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