OpenAI is suing Elon Musk for unfair competition and interfering with its business relationships with investors and customers, escalating a legal battle between the ChatGPT maker and the billionaire who helped bankroll the artificial intelligence startup a decade ago.
The allegations against Musk were filed Wednesday in a federal court in California as a counterclaim to the Tesla CEO's lawsuit against OpenAI, which is heading to a jury trial next year.
Musk, an early OpenAI investor who now runs his own AI firm, xAI, along with Tesla, SpaceX, social media platform X and President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, began a legal offensive against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman more than a year ago.
He first over what he said was the betrayal of its research laboratory, and later expanded his claims.
A federal judge in March denied Musk鈥檚 request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a but said she could expedite a trial to consider . She offered to hold a trial later this year, but it has been pushed back to March 2026.
In this week's counterclaim, OpenAI accuses Musk of making a 鈥渟ham bid鈥� in February to buy a controlling stake in the nonprofit.
Musk and a group of investors for OpenAI's assets, a number that OpenAI said Musk pulled from the character 974 Praf in the science fiction novel 鈥淟ook to Windward鈥� by . Musk has also named some of his SpaceX machinery after ships in the book.
OpenAI said it 鈥渞ecognized the bid as a feint鈥� but has repeatedly had to divert resources and 鈥渟uffered harm as a result of Musk鈥檚 unlawful campaign of harassment, interference, and misinformation.鈥�
Musk attorney Marc Toberoff responded in an email late Wednesday and said that if OpenAI's board of directors had 鈥済enuinely considered the bid, as they were obligated to do, they would have seen how serious it was.鈥�
"It鈥檚 telling that having to pay fair market value for OpenAI鈥檚 assets allegedly 鈥榠nterferes鈥� with their business plans,鈥� Toberoff wrote.
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The Associated Press and OpenAI have that allows OpenAI access to part of AP鈥檚 text archives.
Matt O'brien, The Associated Press
