Why OpenAI Filed Lawsuit Against Elon Musk

RMN Digital Story Highlights:

The legal battle stems from Musk’s earlier lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, filed last year. 

OpenAI’s lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent Musk from further interfering with its operations.

OpenAI has filed a countersuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of employing bad-faith tactics to disrupt the company’s operations and gain control of its AI advancements. 

The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, claims Musk has engaged in a relentless campaign to harm OpenAI, including public attacks, a $97.4 billion unsolicited takeover bid described as a “sham,” and efforts to interfere with the company’s fundraising. 

OpenAI alleges these moves were designed to slow its progress and benefit Musk’s own AI venture, xAI, which competes directly with OpenAI.

The legal battle stems from Musk’s earlier lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, filed last year. Musk argued that OpenAI had deviated from its original nonprofit mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity, instead prioritizing corporate profit. 

OpenAI’s countersuit paints a different picture, alleging that Musk himself pushed for a for-profit model during his time with the organization and even sought to take majority control and appoint himself as CEO in 2017.

A focal point of the lawsuit is Musk’s $97.4 billion takeover bid, which OpenAI claims was never serious and lacked credible financing. The company alleges the offer was more of a publicity stunt than a legitimate proposal. 

The feud between Musk and OpenAI has deep roots. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Altman but left the organization in 2018 after disagreements over its direction. 

Since then, Musk has launched xAI, which recently acquired X (formerly Twitter), his social media platform, in a deal valuing the combined entity at over $100 billion. OpenAI’s lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent Musk from further interfering with its operations and demands compensatory and punitive damages for the harm allegedly caused.

The case is set to proceed to a jury trial in spring 2026.