After withdrawing his lawsuit in June for unknown reasons, Elon Musk has revived his complaint accusing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of fraudulent inducement. Musk claims he was misled to invest $44 million in seed funding by promises that OpenAI would always open-source its technology and prioritize public benefit over profits.
Musk alleges that Altman and his co-conspirators deceived him to gain financial backing, only to later shift the nonprofit’s mission towards profit-driven goals. According to Musk, this tactical switch turned OpenAI into a lucrative enterprise, contradicting its foundational principles promised to him.
In his complaint, Musk emphasizes that his involvement and funding in the early stages were crucial for OpenAI’s development. He alleges that Altman’s intentions were always to build a profitable competitor to Google, rather than a nonprofit dedicated to public good.
Musk’s legal action also challenges OpenAI’s exclusive licensing of GPT-4 and other technologies to Microsoft in 2023. He contends that this move restricts public access to these advanced AI technologies, further betraying OpenAI’s original mission.
Seeking redress, Musk has asked the court for maximum damages for alleged fraud, contract breaches, and other violations. Additionally, he wants the court to address whether OpenAI’s advanced models like GPT-4 should be classified as artificial general intelligence (AGI) and thereby nullify Microsoft’s license.
More about this ongoing legal battle can be read here.