OpenAI has answered Elon Musk’s lawsuit. The leaders of ChatGPT have issued a statement revealing that the tech founder backed plans for a for-profit subsidiary and accused him of seeking to seize complete control of the company.
In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI with a group of well-known investors, scientists, and developers. At the outset, they framed it as a nonprofit aimed at advancing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. Yet the structure has shifted significantly since then, adding a for-profit arm designed to maximize financial returns. Musk contends that this change violates the founding mission, and he sued the company, its chief executive officer Sam Altman, and its president Greg Brockman. The complaint also accuses them of breaching an agreement to keep AI advances broadly available to the public by partnering with Microsoft, which has invested a total of 13 billion dollars in the company.
OpenAI presents a different version of events. The startup has released emails showing that in 2017 Musk and the leadership agreed to create a for-profit subsidiary that is now the subject of the lawsuit. Altman and Brockman reportedly planned to raise 100 million dollars, but Musk proposed a higher commitment, saying, I think we should start with a financing commitment of 1 billion dollars, according to an internal message.
OpenAI also accuses Musk of trying to take total control of the company. A statement notes that Elon wanted a majority stake, initial board control, and the role of chief executive. He reportedly used financing as a pressure tactic. Still, those demands did not gain traction, and a merger with Tesla, the electric-car maker led by Musk since 2008 and described at one point as the only path to match Google, a leader in AI development at the time, was never realized.
Elon Musk proposed combining OpenAI with Tesla as a means to secure a rival platform, but the plan did not move forward.
Musk’s push for control is not the only theme of the back-and-forth. A headlined quote captures the crux: Elon wanted a majority stake, initial board control, and to be CEO.
Ultimately, in 2018 Musk stepped away from OpenAI’s board. In an email to his former colleagues, he warned that the chances of success for the company were zero, and that raising a few hundred million would not be enough. In those final messages, Musk indicated he would build a competing AI enterprise rather than relying on the OpenAI path.
Six years later, the second-richest person on the planet is making every effort to outpace OpenAI. Altman’s company has become a central benchmark in the field after launching a widely adopted model and other advanced generative AI systems. The valuation cited in recent reporting surpasses 80 billion dollars, a figure linked to agreements reported by major outlets. The momentum has also propelled Microsoft, which has moved ahead of Google to become the most valuable company in the world.
Meanwhile, Musk pressed for a pause in AI development on existential grounds, but within a month it became clear that he had formed his own AI venture to compete in the market. Until that route succeeds, the magnate is pursuing a legal route to challenge OpenAI.