Elon Musk Targets Billions from OpenAI and Microsoft
Elon Musk is looking to claim as much as $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, asserting that he deserves “unjust profits” due to his early support for the companies. This claim surfaced in a court filing made on Friday.
In advance of a planned lawsuit, Musk stated that he, as a co-founder, generated between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion from his donations to what was then a startup from 2015 onward. Meanwhile, he claims Microsoft reaped profits between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion.
According to Musk’s lead attorney, Stephen Moro, “OpenAI wouldn’t be here without Elon Musk. He provided significant seed funding and brought his expertise in scaling businesses.” Moro elaborated that the value of Musk’s contributions has been quantified by independent experts.
OpenAI, however, rebutted Musk’s claims, describing them as a “dishonest request” and labeling his actions a “harassment campaign” against the organization.
Meanwhile, Microsoft didn’t provide a comment regarding Musk’s compensation request after business hours.
OpenAI maintained in its recent statements that Musk’s lawsuit is “baseless,” while legal representatives from Microsoft noted there’s no evidence supporting claims that their company “aided and abetted” OpenAI.
Both companies delivered separate filings challenging Musk’s damage claims on the same day.
Musk departed from OpenAI in 2018 and currently leads xAI, which competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT through its own chatbot, Grok. He accuses OpenAI of deviating from its initial non-profit mission, particularly after its transition into a for-profit model.
A judge has determined that a jury in Oakland, California, will consider the case, with a trial date set for April.
In Musk’s filing, he claims to have invested approximately $38 million, which amounts to about 60% of OpenAI’s initial seed funding, and he mentioned his role in recruiting staff and establishing credibility for the initiative from the beginning.
He argues, “Just as early investors might see returns far surpassing their original investments, the profits that OpenAI and Microsoft have garnered, which I believe I’m entitled to reclaim, vastly exceed my contributions.”
Musk’s contributions were assessed by his expert witness, financial economist C. Paul Wazan, as mentioned in the lawsuit.
The filing suggests that if a jury finds in Musk’s favor, he may pursue punitive damages and other penalties, although the specifics of these remedies remain unspecified.
OpenAI and Microsoft’s own submissions requested that the judge restrict the evidence Musk’s experts can present, describing Musk’s analysis as “fabricated,” “unverifiable,” and “unprecedented,” arguing it essentially aims to transfer billions from a nonprofit to a competing venture where Musk was previously a donor.
