A California court has rejected Elon Musk's request for a temporary injunction against OpenAI, leading to a forceful response from the AI company.
According to OpenAI, the court found Musk failed to show any viable path to success for his claims, with several of his claims being dismissed outright. "This ruling brings us a big step closer to putting this ridiculous lawsuit to rest," OpenAI writes.
In a strongly worded statement, OpenAI accused Musk of pursuing purely personal interests and promoting his own AI venture. The company points to Musk's own emails as evidence that he had attempted to merge OpenAI with Tesla.
When that merger plan failed, Musk departed the company. OpenAI claims that after witnessing their subsequent progress, he responded with what they call "baseless lawsuits" while simultaneously trying to replicate OpenAI's strategy through his own billion-dollar venture, xAI.
Defending the nonprofit mission
OpenAI maintains its nonprofit foundation remains intact, explaining that for-profit subsidiaries have long been part of its structure. Proposed changes would strengthen the nonprofit's position, with it retaining significant ownership in a new public benefit corporation.
"Our Board has been very clear that we intend to strengthen the non-profit so that it can deliver on its mission for the long term. We're not selling it, we're doubling down on its work," OpenAI writes.
The company notes the irony that Musk himself pushed for structural changes in 2017 before establishing xAI as a public benefit corporation. "As Elon is finding out, facts matter - especially in court," OpenAI states.
Musk's August 2024 lawsuit against OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman claims the company abandoned its founding principles by prioritizing profits over public benefit.
