In a closely watched legal battle that could reshape the artificial intelligence industry, Elon Musk has accused OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of abandoning their original mission and prioritising profits.
Testifying in court, Musk claimed that OpenAI moved away from its nonprofit vision to become a major commercial player competing with companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. He warned, “If a verdict comes up that effectively makes it okay to loot a charity, the entire foundation of charitable giving in America will be destroyed — that’s my concern.”
Musk said he supported OpenAI in its early days to ensure AI development focused on public good and safety. “I didn’t want to pave the road to hell with good intentions,” he said. “I didn’t want to fund OpenAI to make safe AI and then find out that it was actually making unsafe AI.”
He also highlighted his role in the company’s early growth, including helping recruit key talent like Ilya Sutskever and connecting the organisation with partners such as Nvidia and Microsoft.
OpenAI’s legal team responded that external funding became necessary due to the high costs of AI development, adding that the nonprofit arm still controls the organisation. The company’s lawyer said Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 after investing at least $38 million, is now acting out of regret.
Since then, OpenAI has grown into a major AI company valued at $852 billion, with significant backing from Microsoft, which has invested about $13 billion. Meanwhile, Musk has launched his own AI venture, xAI, now linked with SpaceX.
The court is expected to decide by late May whether OpenAI broke its commitments or evolved its model. Musk is seeking up to $134 billion in damages and has said any award would go to the nonprofit.
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