Tesla, X, and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk speaks with members of the media during the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Bletchley, Britain, on Nov. 1, 2023.
Billionaire Elon Musk is reviving a lawsuit in California federal court against OpenAI, the company he co-founded, and its CEO, Sam Altman. The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of fraud and breach of contract, among other allegations. The lawsuit casts Musk, one of the world’s richest people, as a victim of a complex scam whereby he agreed to donate $44 million of his own money, after which OpenAI, he claims, violated its non-profit mission. Musk left OpenAI in 2018 after attempting to take over the company.
In June, Musk withdrew this suit against Altman for unknown reasons, but the new filing includes federal racketeering allegations against Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman. OpenAI said that Musk has understood OpenAI’s mission and direction from the beginning, and that his donation was not coerced.
Musk now runs xAI, a company he hopes will rival OpenAI, and has AI interests with his automotive company Tesla. So, some may question whether Musk truly feels wronged or just wants to stick it to his former colleagues.