What Telegram CEO said about Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk
Telegram
CEO
Pavel Durov
recently shared his thoughts on prominent tech leaders
Elon Musk
,
Meta
's
Mark Zuckerberg
, and
OpenAI
CEO
Sam Altman
.
In an interview with French publication Le Point, Durov said that multiple high-level exits from OpenAI raise questions about Altman's technical expertise.
"Sam has excellent social skills, which allowed him to forge alliances around ChatGPT. But some wonder if his technical expertise is still sufficient, now that his co-founder Ilya [Sutskever] and many other scientists have left OpenAI," he told the publication.
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Regarding Musk, Durov said they have contrasting personalities and leadership styles.
"Elon runs several companies at once, while I only run one. Elon can be very emotional, while I try to think deeply before acting. But that can also be the source of his strength. A person's advantage can often become a weakness in another context," he said.
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These remarks come just weeks after Telegram and Musk's AI company, xAI, announced a partnership to distribute
Grok
to Telegram's more than one billion users. Durov said the deal will bolster Telegram's financial position, revealing that the app will receive $300 million in cash and equity from xAI, along with 50% of revenue from
xAI
subscriptions sold via Telegram.
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In the same interview, Durov criticised Zuckerberg for lacking consistency in his values.
"Mark adapts well and quickly follows trends, but he seems to lack fundamental values that he would remain faithful to, regardless of changes in the political climate or tech industry trends," Durov said.
These comments come amid a broader discussion around Zuckerberg's shifting political identity, which has sparked debate and scrutiny. Once viewed as a liberal tech innovator, the Facebook founder has taken on a more conservative stance in recent years, highlighted by his interactions with figures like US president Donald Trump and his decision to dismantle Facebook's fact-checking program.
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