A US federal judge has denied Elon Musk’s request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting into a for-profit company, but offered to hold a trial to consider his claims against the ChatGPT maker and its CEO.
Musk, an early investor in OpenAI, is suing the company over breach of contract on what he says was the betrayal of its founding aims as a non-profit organization. He had invested $45 million in the startup from its inception until 2018.
In a ruling late Tuesday, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that Musk has not demonstrated likelihood of success in his request for a preliminary injunction. She offered to expedite a trial to consider Musk’s claims against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, as well as new claims including Microsoft and xAI.
OpenAI welcomed the court’s decision, saying it was always about competition and that Elon’s own emails show he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla. The company stated this would have been beneficial to Musk personally but not for its mission or US interests.
Musk’s attorney expressed satisfaction with the court’s offer of an expedited trial on his core claims, stating they look forward to a jury confirming that Altman accepted Musk’s charitable contributions knowing full well they had to be used for public benefit rather than personal enrichment.
The case has roots in 2017 internal power struggles within OpenAI, and emails show Musk sought to become CEO but was outbid by Sam Altman. The dispute escalated late last year with new claims and defendants added, including Microsoft, and a $97.4 billion bid made by Musk and his investors to buy a controlling stake in the non-profit organization.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-openai-lawsuit-f5724e7ab07b5bed8292a1e8aa2ef695