/Tech32m ago

Garry Tan Defends OpenClaw As Independent Open Source Project

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Original post

Was thinking if I should highlight this tweet or not, but it’s a masterclass in the amount of vitriol people face when working on open source.

Is the app great yet? No. It’s a start.

It was built by the community. Getting the iOS and Android apps working with secure pairing and push notifications - and getting both through App Review -took a surprising amount of work.

OpenClaw wasn’t acquired by OpenAI and isn’t an OpenAI product. It’s an open, independent project under the OpenClaw Foundation. OpenAI sponsors the project’s token usage; I work there.

Cristian, your tweet was just one of ~30 I woke up to today. I’d genuinely love your help making it great.

Attention is still the scarcest resource. I’d rather spend mine encouraging people who build.

cristian rus@CristianRus4

imagine getting acquired by @OpenAI, get unlimited AI tokens and still drop this slop abomination

8:00 AM · Jun 30, 2026 · 7.7K Views

Sentiment

Many users praised Garry Tan's defense of OpenClaw as independent open source and his fast shipping approach while others called the app embarrassing and low-quality given the resources spent.

Pos

59.6%

Neg

40.4%

48 comments with sentiment.

Cluster Engagement

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VIEWS16.6KBOOKMARKS5LIKES130REPLIES20

Peter Steinberger 🦞@steipete

@CristianRus4 We’re neither big nor well-sponsored. So far we got one donation, rest is still in talks.

16h16.6K1305

RETWEETS1

Peter Steinberger 🦞@steipete

@heysatya_ Lots of folks in the #clawtributors channel on Discord. Thanks!

11h3.2K81

Travis@traviscurnutte

@steipete @CristianRus4 Your token usage is free, that’s called being well-sponsored

15h86330

Yishai@Ish4Eye

@steipete @CristianRus4 This is what well-sponsored looks like

15h1.5K29

KP@kylem_org

@steipete @CristianRus4 Brother, you were bought out by OAI, the expectation is that this of equal design quality of your access, ability and opportunities, the apps UX is horrible, respectfully

11h88025

BetweenTheLins@BetweenTheLins

@steipete @CristianRus4 Even if this was true it takes an average person 1 week to whip this up with a 20$ codex plan.

15h1.8K16

Peter Steinberger 🦞@steipete

@licotix Can’t use it. Ant blocks their competitors.

16h4.5K71

Robin@xdNiBoR

@steipete @CristianRus4 Ah yes, it's not well sponsored? You mean well spend?

11h1.1K17

Eric Spencer@EricSpencer00

@steipete @licotix then it isnt an independent project not affiliated with OpenAI, no?

15h28116

Garry Tan@garrytan

@steipete The clout chase is real

Don’t let the haters get you down. Block them and move on.

Peter Steinberger 🦞@steipete

Was thinking if I should highlight this tweet or not, but it’s a masterclass in the amount of vitriol people face when working on open source.

Is the app great yet? No. It’s a start.

It was built by the community. Getting the iOS and Android apps working with secure pairing and push notifications - and getting both through App Review -took a surprising amount of work.

OpenClaw wasn’t acquired by OpenAI and isn’t an OpenAI product. It’s an open, independent project under the OpenClaw Foundation. OpenAI sponsors the project’s token usage; I work there.

Cristian, your tweet was just one of ~30 I woke up to today. I’d genuinely love your help making it great.

Attention is still the scarcest resource. I’d rather spend mine encouraging people who build.

30m955100

Paul.web1@pastaduck

@CristianRus4 @steipete Welcome to the attention economy. People tear people down because it gets a reaction. This is toxic shit. Backpedal all you want bro, this is your personal brand now. Own it. As we say in Ireland. Shite craic.

16h9576

cristian rus@CristianRus4

@0xMaheshK @steipete sorry, I didn't know you need a license from OSS to call a poor quality product slop, I'll get my licence for the next time

9h4806

Miloš Dragićević@MilosDragicevic

@garrytan @steipete Well, considering what he’s survived so far, he’s basically indestructible.

20m111

Mahesh@0xMaheshK

@CristianRus4 @steipete What have you build in OSS by non AI to call this a slop?

9h534

Marvin Kaunda@KaundaMarvin

@steipete @CristianRus4 I’d love to help for the UI part, should I just submit a PR or can I talk to the team?

15h9663

Jaro@jaro3th

@steipete @CristianRus4 U spent 1m in tokens the fuck is u talking about

14h4117

XEGAN@xegan271

@steipete Nobody is criticizing open source. We are criticizing your inability to make a good product even after having infinite tokens.

Frankly, I don't even expect Google or Meta to release the first version of their product perfectly, but they make sure it is usable. Unlike you.

6h1121

GUAP@guapdad4000

@steipete I want to help with the UI

16h3153

Pedram Amini@pedramamini

@steipete It's not vitriol. It's an honest question of where those millions of dollars of token spend went. Plenty of open source gets high praise daily. @CristianRus4

11h821

Josh Alexy@joshalexy12

@juanchojack @steipete I’m sure this thought never occurred to you though in the 3 months you’ve been aware of coding and LLMs.

11h80