SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is accused of “trolling” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman after it emerged that the domain “dot.com” belongs to Musk’s xAI and currently redirects to the download page for xAI’s Grok chatbot app.
The development comes after OpenAI recently launched an AI agent called Dots. According to the Whois domain owner registry, the domain was transferred in July.
It is possible that xAI acquired the domain for ordinary reasons. “Dot” could be a typo for “bot,” meaning the domain may have been purchased to capture mistyped searches. However, xAI does not own “bot.com” or some other obvious typo variations, such as “vot.com,” which remains listed for sale.
Still, many internet users believe that Musk or his team pulled off a prank by learning about OpenAI’s product and acquiring the domain.
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An anonymous X user and xAI watcher, @birdabo, who describes themselves as the “chief shitposting officer @SpaceXAI,” was among the first to spot the domain in a post that later went viral.
“This isn’t just about a domain name,” said domain industry veteran Mike Mann, who has brokered millions of dollars in premium domain sales. “Dot.com represents the entire internet infrastructure. Owning it while your competitor launches ‘Dots’ is like owning the highway exit right before Disney World.”
According to The Tech Buzz, OpenAI’s Dots represents a significant evolution in AI agent technology, designed to autonomously handle multi-step tasks such as booking travel, managing calendars and coordinating complex workflows.
“We’re seeing the AI space mature into something that looks more like traditional tech rivalry,” Sarah Chen, an AI industry analyst at Forrester Research, said. “These aren’t just product launches anymore — they’re strategic chess moves designed to capture mindshare and market positioning.”
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Redirecting domains has been used before as a strategy in the technology industry. Google has registered multiple domain variations when launching products, while Apple has been known to secure domains years before product announcements.
The situation involving dot.com drew mixed reactions online. “Peak Elon energy right here,” venture capitalist Paul Graham wrote on X, while others criticized the move as anticompetitive.
Musk and Altman have also been engaged in a legal dispute over OpenAI. Musk has accused OpenAI founders Altman and Greg Brockman of pursuing a for-profit transition “to enrich themselves” and deviating from the company’s original mission. OpenAI, Altman and Brockman have denied the claims and described Musk as “a frustrated commercial competitor seeking to slow down a mission-driven market leader.”