Elon Musk says Google has ‘highest probability’ of being the leader in AI

xAI CEO Elon Musk has given rare praise to his rival Google, acknowledging the tech giant’s dominance in artificial intelligence due to its biggest computing and data advantages. Musk stated that Google currently holds the largest likelihood of leading the AI industry.

This comes amid an ongoing public feud between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over allegations of bias in Apple’s App Store rankings favouring OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

In response to a post on X on Wednesday, Musk predicted that significant AI firms will ‘continue to prosper’ for the foreseeable future.

“For the foreseeable future, the major AI companies will continue to prosper, as will @xAI. There is just so much to do! Outside of real-world AI, Google has the biggest compute (and data) advantage for now, so, currently has the highest probability of being the leader. That may change in a few years,” he wrote on X.

For the foreseeable future, the major AI companies will continue to prosper, as will @xAI. There is just so much to do!

Outside of real-world AI, Google has the biggest compute (and data) advantage for now, so currently has the highest probability of being the leader.

That may…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2025

Earlier in the day, xAI co-founder Igor Babuschkin announced that he has left the firm to start his own venture focused on AI safety.

Today was my last day at xAI, the company that I helped start with Elon Musk in 2023. I still remember the day I first met Elon, we talked for hours about AI and what the future might hold. We both felt that a new AI company with a different kind of mission was needed.

Building…

— Igor Babuschkin (@ibab) August 13, 2025

On X, he wrote, “Today was my last day at xAI, the company that I helped start with Elon Musk in 2023.” He is founding Babuschkin Ventures, which supports AI safety research and backs startups in AI and agentic systems that advance humanity and unlock the mysteries of our universe.

This follows the ongoing fight between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, which began when the Tesla CEO alleged that Apple favours OpenAI for App Store rankings. Musk accused Apple of allegedly making it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1”.

Recently, Apple denied the allegations and insisted that “The App Store is designed to be fair and free of bias.”

“Our goal is to offer safe discovery for users and valuable opportunities for developers, collaborating with many to increase app visibility in rapidly evolving categories,” the company’s statement read.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)