OpenAI has announced it will end its partnership with Cursor, a popular AI coding platform, following the tool's acquisition by SpaceX for $60 billion. The proposed cutoff date for Cursor's direct access to OpenAI models is November 12, 2026.

We're ending our partnership with Cursor following its acquisition by SpaceX. Under our proposal, Cursor's direct access to our models would end on November 12. We know that the people most affected by this decision are the developers who rely on OpenAI models in Cursor. We care… — OpenAI (@OpenAI) August 29, 2026 https://x.com/OpenAI/status/2093515564786540695?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The decision was posted on OpenAI's website, which confirmed the company has already notified Cursor of its intent to wind down the contract. The proposed cutoff date is November 12, 2026.

OpenAI pointed to concerns about whether SpaceX would use its technology within the agreed terms of service.

"We are making this choice because we cannot be confident that SpaceX will use our technology within our terms of service, based on our experience with Elon Musk's companies violating contracts," OpenAI said in a statement.

The reference to past contract disputes reflects the long-running legal conflict between Musk and OpenAI. Musk sued OpenAI in 2024, alleging the company had abandoned its founding nonprofit mission, and the two sides have traded lawsuits and public accusations since — making the Cursor dispute the latest flashpoint in that feud.

The History Between Musk and OpenAI

Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left the organization before it became the company it is today. Since then, he has been one of its most vocal critics.

Musk also runs xAI, his own artificial intelligence company, which directly competes with OpenAI in the AI development space. xAI's models, including the Grok line, are positioned as alternatives to OpenAI's GPT family.

Cursor was created by a company called Anysphere. It gained a strong following among programmers by weaving AI tools into everyday coding tasks, becoming one of the fastest-growing products in the developer-tools market.

Bloomberg had reported back in May 2026 that SpaceX was planning to acquire Cursor shortly after its initial public offering.

What Happens to Cursor Users

OpenAI did not say how the termination would affect people currently using Cursor. It also did not specify which of its technologies would be removed from the platform after November 12.

That leaves Cursor users with some uncertainty about what the product will look like once the partnership officially ends. It also highlights a broader risk for developers who build workflows on top of AI-powered tools: access to underlying models is ultimately controlled by the model providers, and partnerships can shift with corporate strategy.

The split comes as competition in AI coding tools is growing fast. Major tech companies and startups are all pushing to build tools that can write, review, and fix code. Competing model providers, including Anthropic and Google, have made coding a central use case for their models, meaning potential replacement suppliers exist if SpaceX chooses to go that route.

OpenAI has been building out its own coding products as well, targeting software development as a key commercial area.

The breakup puts SpaceX in an interesting position. It now owns a widely used AI coding tool but has lost access to one of its key underlying technologies.

Whether SpaceX and Cursor will find a replacement AI provider, or build their own, has not been announced. One open question is whether xAI's models could fill the gap, given that both companies are controlled by Musk.

The November 12 deadline gives both sides roughly two and a half months to figure out next steps.

The AI coding market is expected to keep growing, and this move may push Cursor to accelerate plans to build or license new technology outside of OpenAI's ecosystem.