Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called for a new investigation into the death of Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who was found dead in his San Francisco apartment in November 2024.
Musk made the remarks during his latest appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Friday, where he questioned the official finding that Balaji had taken his own life.
Balaji, 26, had worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before leaving the company in August 2024.
According to The Guardian, he was identified in court filings as a potential witness in a lawsuit accusing OpenAI of copyright violations related to the training of its AI models.
Authorities in San Francisco ruled Balaji’s death a suicide after police found no signs of forced entry or foul play.
However, his parents have disputed this conclusion, describing him as “a happy and motivated young man” who was planning to pursue a doctorate after leaving OpenAI.
During the podcast, Musk told host Joe Rogan that “it’s not possible to look more guilty” when describing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s recent interview with Tucker Carlson.
“I don’t know if he’s guilty,” Musk said, “but all signs point to it being a murder. His parents think he was murdered. The wires to his security camera were cut, blood was found in two rooms, and someone else’s wig was in the apartment.”
Musk also mentioned that Balaji had ordered food through DoorDash shortly before his death, behaviour he described as inconsistent with suicide.
Balaji’s case has drawn renewed attention after Carlson’s recent interview with Altman, during which the OpenAI CEO defended the official findings.
“It looks like a suicide to me,” Altman told Carlson, insisting that Balaji had bought the weapon himself and that police investigations found no evidence of a struggle.
When pressed by Carlson about evidence suggesting foul play, including blood in multiple rooms and cut security camera wires, Altman said he believed the authorities had examined the case thoroughly.
“People do commit suicide without notes,” he said.
“This is an incredible tragedy, and I respect the family’s view, but I believe what the evidence shows.”
Musk disagreed during his podcast appearance, saying he found the circumstances surrounding Balaji’s death “deeply suspicious.”
“People who knew him said he wasn’t suicidal. I think it’s worth reopening the case,” he added.
Balaji’s parents have renewed their calls for transparency. They have long maintained that their son’s death was not properly investigated and that the family was left without clear answers.
As of Friday evening, San Francisco police had not issued a response to Musk’s comments. The city’s medical examiner’s office has previously stated that the manner of death remains officially classified as suicide.
The full discussion between Musk and Joe Rogan can be heard at the four-minute mark of the episode, available on Spotify.
