A federal judge recently declined to dismiss OpenAI’s claims against Elon Musk, who has accused the company of conducting a “long-standing harassment campaign” against him.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that the counterclaim was “sufficient” enough to proceed as part of Musk’s lawsuit against the AI firm.
Musk, a founder of OpenAI back in 2015, filed suit against the company and its CEO, Sam Altman, last August.
He alleges that Altman manipulated him into supporting nonprofits under the promise of prioritizing AI safety, only to later betray him by pursuing a partnership with Microsoft and turning OpenAI into a for-profit entity.
In response, OpenAI fired back in April, accusing Musk of a “relentless” assault through media and on the social platform X, while also seeking access to corporate records and what they deemed “fake bids.”
The April document claimed, “Musk could not accept such success from the company he left and claimed was doomed. He wasn’t building for humanity; it was all about Musk, aiming to create a competing entity to outdo OpenAI.”
Earlier in March, the judge had previously denied Musk’s request to halt OpenAI’s transformation into a for-profit. However, Gonzalez Rogers indicated the trial is set to proceed into the fall of 2025.
This ongoing feud between Musk and Altman has been long-standing but recently flared up when Musk threatened to take legal action against Apple for not featuring X and his AI chatbot Grok in the App Store’s recommended apps.
He claimed that it’s nearly impossible for AI companies outside of OpenAI to rank at the top of the App Store, which he described as a “clear anti-trust violation.”
Altman responded to Musk’s claims, expressing surprise given Musk’s allegations about using X for personal gain while undermining competitors, saying, “I hope someone can refute this. Many, including myself, want clarity on what’s happening. Meanwhile, OpenAI will keep focusing on making great products.”
