Musk Detects 'FTX Energy' Leak at Anthropic – SBF Vibes, Wholesome Chungus, and a Pop Star's Subscription Receipt

Elon Musk, never one to let a spicy narrative pass him by, has now cosigned a theory that the AI darling Anthropic is giving off the distinct, pungent aroma of "FTX energy." The take was cooked up and served by tech commentator Lukas (@hyperonline), who posted a thread picking apart why the startup's corporate aura gives him the ick—despite being a fan of its actual tech.

In his thread, Lukas mused, "I’ve been trying to understand why Anthropic puts me off (even though I love their models), and I think it’s this: Anthropic has FTX energy." He notes that both this AI lab and the late, unlamented FTX empire were built on the bedrock of effective altruism, the same philosophical movement that served as Sam Bankman-Fried's moral operating system.

The comparison digs deeper, highlighting how both entities leaned on a "we’re the RESPONSIBLE ones" marketing schtick, deployed "wholesome chungus branding" that would make a PBS cartoon blush, and propped up "genius nerd" founder narratives to build trust. A key piece of connective tissue: SBF himself was an early Anthropic sugar daddy, funneling a cool $500 million into the startup in 2022—funds later exposed as freshly laundered customer money.

Lukas distilled the unsettling vibe as feeling like a "some sort of hyperpredator" was hiding under the fleece vest, describing the whole operation as meticulously calculated and dripping with insincerity.

Musk's potshot lands with a little extra gravitational pull, given that he's the founder of xAI, the outfit behind the Grok language model, making Anthropic a direct competitor in the high-stakes, GPU-burning AI arms race.

In a surreal but perfectly on-brand twist, pop icon Katy Perry decided to publicly stan for the AI lab on Feb. 28, posting a screenshot on X of her $214.99 annual Claude Pro subscription—a receipt that somehow feels like the most normal part of this whole story.