Developers using AI coding tool Cursor in combination with OpenAI’s models have until November 12, 2026 to continue accessing them.

OpenAI on Friday, August 28, said that it is pulling its models from Cursor as it looks to wind down its contract with the SpaceX-owned platform. The ChatGPT-maker said it is making this decision because it cannot be sure that Elon Musk-led SpaceX will not violate its contract.

The company further said that it chose the November 12 cut-off date to give developers the maximum notice allowed as per the agreement.

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OpenAI’s move marks another escalation of the bitter feud between Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who have been at odds for years. Earlier this year, the row between the two tech titans culminated in a trial. Musk sued OpenAI for $150 billion, accusing the company and Altman of “stealing a charity” by betraying its original non-profit ⁠mission for their ‌own enrichment.

During the trial, Musk’s lawyer said that Musk and other witnesses had testified that Altman was a liar, while OpenAI argued that Musk had sought control of the ⁠company. However, a federal jury ruled against Musk, finding that he had filed the case too ‌late.

The Cursor-OpenAI partnership

Cursor’s AI coding platform helps software developers generate, edit, and review code. It was founded in 2022 by 25-year-old Indian-origin entrepreneur Aman Sanger alongside three other Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduates.

The platform initially gained popularity because it was model agnostic, meaning that developers have the option to choose from various large language models (LLMs), including OpenAI and Anthropic’s offerings, to power their coding experience.

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Developers were also favourable to Cursor for its zero-data-retention arrangements and visible multi-model neutrality. However, SpaceX announced a deal to buy Anysphere, the startup behind Cursor, for $60 billion in an all-stock deal in June, and completed the acquisition earlier this month.

The acquisition sparked concerns that Anthropic and OpenAI would decide to pull their models from the platform. Those fears now appear to have been partly realised.

OpenAI on Friday said that it is cancelling the deal based on its past experiences of dealing with Musk-owned firms. It alleged that X and xAI had both previously violated OpenAI’s terms of service. OpenAI also said it must ensure that its upcoming model, Astra, is used in line with its terms, given its highly advanced AI capabilities.

Meanwhile, Michael Truell, a co-founder of Cursor and now an executive at SpaceX, said ​that ​they were speaking with the OpenAI team ⁠to resolve this issue. He also said that OpenAI’s models account for five per cent of user traffic.

We’re sorry to see that OpenAI put out a note saying they plan to block Cursor users from accessing OpenAI models in three months.

OpenAI models serve about 5% of Cursor user traffic, and we’re speaking with the OpenAI team to resolve this.

Cursor was one of the very first…

— Michael Truell (@mntruell) August 29, 2026

“Cursor was one of the very first users of OpenAI, we’ve worked closely with their team for years, and ‌we’ve trusted their platform to be neutral infrastructure for our business,” Truell said in an X post on Friday.