Elon Musk’s long-standing rivalry with Sam Altman, which has lasted seven years, has escalated considerably as Musk seeks to prevent OpenAI’s ongoing transition into a for-profit enterprise. Musk, a significant early investor and board member of OpenAI, has filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that it has strayed from its original mission as a nonprofit research organization aimed at serving the public interest and is instead pursuing profit-driven motives.
The situation has intensified as Musk has introduced additional allegations and is requesting a legal injunction to stop OpenAI’s transformation into a fully for-profit entity. Musk, recognized as the world’s wealthiest individual and the CEO of numerous companies including Tesla and SpaceX, founded his own competing AI company, named xAI, which he asserts is facing unfair competition due to OpenAI’s practices in partnership with Microsoft. Microsoft provides the substantial computing resources necessary for developing advanced AI systems, including ChatGPT.
In his legal filing, Musk expresses concerns over the collaboration between OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that this partnership is exploiting Musk’s financial contributions to build a profit-oriented monopoly specifically aimed at undermining xAI. He argues that this development is in violation of the commitments associated with his initial support for the organization when it operated as a charitable venture.
OpenAI has submitted a rebuttal to Musk’s request, stating that granting it would severely harm OpenAI’s operations and compromise its mission while giving an unfair advantage to Musk and xAI. They have labeled Musk’s claims as unrealistic. A court hearing is scheduled for January, presided over by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California.
The core of the conflict traces back to a power struggle within OpenAI in 2017, which ultimately led to Altman taking over as CEO. Musk had also indicated interest in becoming CEO and proposed a plan for initial control of the company, albeit temporarily. However, discussions with two co-founders, Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman, revealed that they were concerned Musk would wield too much influence as a significant shareholder and executive in a company striving to achieve advanced AI, known as artificial general intelligence (AGI). Musk has consistently expressed unease about the dangers posed by advanced AI technologies.
In an email from 2017, Sutskever and Brockman warned Musk that the governance structure would eventually lead to him having absolute control over the AGI, which Musk had previously indicated was not his intention. The same correspondence raised doubts about Altman’s ambitions to become CEO, questioning whether his motivations were influenced by political interests. Ultimately, Altman secured the role of CEO and has served continuously, apart from a brief dismissal last year that was quickly reversed after a board change.
To present their perspective on the unfolding situation, OpenAI published the email exchanges in a recent blog post, highlighting Musk’s initial endorsement of transforming OpenAI into a for-profit organization to secure funding for necessary technology and infrastructure. It was Musk, through his financial manager, who first established a public benefit corporation called “Open Artificial Intelligence Technologies, Inc.” in September 2017. Following an email where Musk expressed dissatisfaction, he eventually proposed merging OpenAI with Tesla before stepping down from his position on OpenAI’s board in early 2018.
Requests for comments sent to Musk’s companies remained unanswered as of Friday. In response to inquiries about his deteriorating relationship with Musk at a recent New York Times conference, Altman conveyed feelings of deep sadness but characterized Musk’s legal action as a matter of business rivalry. He remarked on their mutual competition and his own satisfaction with OpenAI’s progress, expressing limited concern about Musk’s political ties, particularly regarding President-elect Donald Trump. OpenAI announced Friday that Altman plans to make a personal contribution of $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, aligning with several technology firms and executives looking to enhance their rapport with the new administration.
