After OpenAI Refutes Elon Musk’s Allegations, The X Owner Comes Back With Peculiar Proposal to Drop Lawsuit

Elon Musk, the eccentric co-founder of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, late last week initiated legal action against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, who is also a fellow co-founder of the Microsoft-backed tech research firm. Musk alleges that the AI startup, which he played a pivotal role in founding in 2015, has breached contractual agreements by deviating from its original nonprofit mission to prioritise profit over advancing humanity through artificial intelligence.

This comes a day after OpenAI issued a blog refuting Musk’s allegations, assuring they are very much at par with their original mission statement. OpenAI went on to claim that Musk had earlier sought major equity ownership of OpenAI, in addition to control over the initial board as well as the position of CEO within the organisation. These demands conflicted with OpenAI’s principles of shared governance and decentralised control.

Proposing an unconventional resolution to the dispute, Musk took to his social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), announcing his willingness to drop the lawsuit if OpenAI agrees to rebrand itself as “ClosedAI.” This peculiar demand underscores Musk’s belief that the company should be more transparent about its business objectives.

Having stepped down from OpenAI’s board in 2018, Musk claims that the company’s profit-oriented approach contradicts the foundational principles upon which it was established. Lawyers representing Musk argue that OpenAI’s pursuit of financial gain violates their initial agreement.

Continuing to take potshots at Altman, Musk altered his image wearing an ID card, replacing OpenAI with ClosedAI.

In response to Musk’s legal action, OpenAI released a series of private emails exchanged with him on March 6. The company expressed disappointment in Musk, citing his role in inspiring them to aim higher while expressing frustration over his adversarial actions, including starting a competitor and subsequently filing a lawsuit against them.

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Legal experts have cast doubt on the viability of Musk’s breach of contract claims, raising scepticism about the lawsuit’s potential success in court, reported the Associated Press. Nevertheless, the legal dispute has brought attention to internal conflicts within OpenAI, particularly concerning its governance structure, research transparency, and pursuit of artificial general intelligence.

The contentious firing and subsequent reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman in November 2023 have heightened speculation about internal tensions within OpenAI. To address these issues, the company has initiated an internal investigation led by the law firm WilmerHale, aiming to uncover the circumstances surrounding Altman’s dismissal and return while providing insights into the challenges it faces during its transition from a nonprofit to a primarily for-profit entity.