OpenAI Accuses Elon Musk of Ambush Tactic Ahead of High-Stakes $100 Billion-Plus Trial

Musk's Lawsuit Against OpenAI Takes a Surprising Turn

In a court filing made late Friday night, OpenAI accused Elon Musk of suddenly changing direction in his lawsuit against the startup, just weeks before trial. The move has been described as a "legal ambush" by OpenAI.

Musk sued OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. in 2024 over claims that the maker of ChatGPT abandoned its founding mission as a research institution when it took billions of dollars in backing from the software stalwart and planned its restructuring as a for-profit business. A trial over those allegations is set for April 27. OpenAI and Microsoft have denied wrongdoing.

The world's richest person, Elon Musk, initially told the court in January that he was seeking in the range of $79 billion to $134 billion in "wrongful gains" from his adversaries. This amount is based in large part on how much the value of OpenAI has exploded since Musk worked with Sam Altman and others to found the startup in 2015. A judgment of that magnitude would be among the largest court awards in US history.

However, in a filing made earlier this week, Musk's lawyers proposed a significant shift in the lawsuit's objectives. They stated that any money Musk wins at trial should go back to OpenAI instead of to him. Additionally, they suggested that Musk wants the court to unwind OpenAI's conversion and to oversee its financings and transactions in the future to ensure it doesn't stray from its original mission. Furthermore, they proposed that Sam Altman be ousted from his leadership roles as OpenAI's chief executive officer and board member.

OpenAI has responded to these proposals, stating that they are "legally improper and factually unsupported." In their filing, OpenAI's lawyers argued that Musk's proposed amendment would require the presentation of different evidence and different witnesses than the case he sponsored until three days ago.

| Original Claim | New Proposal | | --- | --- | | Seeking $79 billion to $134 billion in "wrongful gains" | Any money won at trial should go back to OpenAI | | Unseating Sam Altman as CEO and board member not proposed | Unseating Sam Altman as CEO and board member proposed | | Unwind OpenAI's conversion and oversee future transactions not proposed | Unwind OpenAI's conversion and oversee future transactions proposed |