Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has secured a major legal win after a US court allowed his lawsuit against OpenAI, the company behind the popular
AI chatbot ChatGPT, to proceed to a jury trial, Reuters reported. The case focuses on Musk’s claim that OpenAI moved away from its original nonprofit mission and turned into a profit-focused company, allegedly breaking promises made to its early supporters. According to the report, the ruling was delivered by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers during a hearing in Oakland, California. The judge said there is enough evidence for a jury to examine Musk’s claims, especially around assurances given by OpenAI’s leadership about keeping the organisation nonprofit and committed to public good. Musk was one of the co-founders of OpenAI when it was established in 2015. He exited the company in 2018 but says he played an important role in its early journey. According to Musk, he invested around $38 million in the organisation during its initial years. He claims OpenAI’s founders had clearly told him that the company would not chase profits and would instead work in the interest of humanity, particularly in the sensitive field of artificial intelligence. In his lawsuit, Musk has named OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman, accusing them of deliberately changing the company’s structure to make money. Musk alleges that the shift to a for-profit model was done for personal benefit and led to massive earnings through business tie-ups, including multi-billion-dollar deals with Microsoft. He is seeking financial damages, calling these profits unfair and unlawful. OpenAI and its leadership have rejected all allegations. The company argues that Musk’s lawsuit is driven by business rivalry rather than genuine concern. According to OpenAI’s lawyers, Musk is unhappy as his own AI venture, xAI, is competing directly with OpenAI in the fast-growing generative AI market. Microsoft, which is also named in the lawsuit, has asked the court to dismiss the claims against it. Lawyers for Microsoft told the court there is no evidence to suggest the company helped OpenAI in any alleged wrongdoing, as per Reuters. The Reuters also reported that OpenAI’s legal team also argued that Musk filed the lawsuit too late and failed to provide solid proof for serious charges like fraud and breach of contract. Judge Gonzalez Rogers said the jury will also decide whether the case falls outside the legal time limit. The jury trial is expected to begin in March. The outcome could play a key role in shaping how AI companies operate in the future, especially when it comes to balancing public responsibility with commercial interests. (with inputs from Reuters)
