OpenAI sues Musk: 'He could not tolerate seeing such success for an enterprise he had abandoned'

Now, it's OpenAI's turn. The artificial intelligence developer filed a countersuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of attempting to "take down" the nonprofit organization he helped launch in 2015.

The judicial onslaught comes in response to what it defines as a "relentless" campaign by the world's richest man, who "could not tolerate seeing such success for an enterprise he had abandoned and declared doomed," a campaign that includes attacks on his social network, X, in the press, and in court.

"Musk’s continued attacks on OpenAI, culminating most recently in the fake takeover bid designed to disrupt OpenAI’s future, must cease," according to the lawsuit, reported by Axios.

The developer claims that the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X criticized his actions after making a public restructuring plan at OpenAI, which Musk views as a betrayal of its mission to "benefit humanity" by transforming into a for-profit company. The latter denies these accusations, publicly stating that "Elon’s never been about the mission" and that "he’s always had his own agenda."

Musk's hypocrisy?

In addition to pointing out that Musk left the group before the launch of its flagship product, ChatGPT, they claim that he himself proposed an organizational change similar to the one he now criticizes.

In 2017, driven by the high cost of its projects, OpenAI began considering a restructuring that would allow it to receive investments, not just donations. Musk, still part of the organization at the time, agreed, according to their claims.

However, "Musk wanted more than an organizational change that would better advance OpenAI’s mission. He wanted control, for himself." They claim he demanded the chairmanship and a majority of the shares, even proposing to integrate OpenAI with Tesla, his electric automaker. Additionally, they accuse him of failing to fulfill his initial commitment to inject $1 billion into the company.

Pushed by rising costs and the entry of players like Microsoft and Musk himself, OpenAI's top brass is reconsidering a restructuring. "Elon’s nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit," they claim, accusing him of harming them to benefit his own AI company, xAI.

An all-out war

OpenAI accuses Musk of waging both a judicial and public campaign and seems ready to respond with the same arsenal.

Not only did it publish a blog with details and screenshots that allegedly prove the inconsistencies of its friend-turned-enemy, but in its recent lawsuit, it also called for a jury trial. Additionally, it seized the opportunity to criticize him on his own social network.