Elon Musk Sues Openai Over Business Structure As Ai War Heats Up

OpenAI, a leading AI research lab, is embroiled in a legal battle with its co-founder Elon Musk over the company’s business structure. The dispute centers on whether OpenAI should transition from a non-profit to a for-profit organization.

Musk announced his competitor, xAI, last year and has since released the Grok chatbot. He also filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in March, claiming that the company is not pursuing its mission effectively and that he should be allowed to “reframe” his claims.

However, OpenAI responded with a new legal filing and a pointed blog post featuring Musk’s old emails. The emails, published on Friday, show that Musk had wanted OpenAI to transition to a for-profit organization as early as 2015.

In one email, Musk wrote that the non-profit structure “doesn’t seem optimal” and suggested that the company start with a funding commitment of $1 billion. He also implied that he wanted OpenAI to merge with Tesla and be its “cash cow.”

OpenAI accused Musk at the time of wanting the startup to fail if he did not get majority equity. When Musk failed to win majority equity, OpenAI accused him of walking away and saying the company would “fail.”

The dispute highlights the tension between OpenAI’s mission to develop AI for the public good and Musk’s personal interests in competing with his own AI company, xAI.

OpenAI wrote in its blog post: “You can’t sue your way to AGI. We have great respect for Elon’s accomplishments and gratitude for his early contributions to OpenAI, but he should be competing in the marketplace rather than the courtroom.”

The dispute remains ongoing, with both sides engaged in a public battle over the future of OpenAI and its business structure. Musk has made multiple attempts to “reframe” his claims, including filing a new lawsuit just weeks ago.

Elon Musk’s release of the Grok chatbot and his establishment of xAI have raised questions about his true motivations for taking action against OpenAI. The emails published by OpenAI provide insight into Musk’s early intentions, suggesting that he had long sought to transform the company into a profitable venture.

The public battle between OpenAI and Musk has drawn attention from experts in AI development, who warn of the risks associated with using high-stakes lawsuits to settle disputes rather than engaging in open dialogue.