Elon Musk has urged a federal court to halt OpenAI’s transformation into a fully commercial enterprise, according to a statement filed by his lawyers.
He argues that the AI startup led by Sam Altman should be prevented from requiring its investors to refrain from investing in competitors like xAI.
In the motion, Musk’s attorneys argue for prohibiting OpenAI from “profiting from improperly obtained confidential competitive information or coordination through the interdependence of the boards of Microsoft and OpenAI.”
“Elon’s fourth attempt, which again repeats the same baseless complaints, remains utterly futile,” remarked a representative of the ChatGPT developer.
The lawsuit claims that Microsoft and OpenAI “seek to cement dominance by blocking competitors’ access to investment capital.” The conditions imposed on investors by the “AI startup are tantamount to a group boycott.”
Musk first filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in March 2024, accusing the company and Altman of violating an agreement established at the firm’s inception “to develop technology for the benefit of humanity, not for profit.”
In June, the billionaire withdrew the lawsuit, only to renew it in August. By mid-November, he had expanded the list of defendants to include Microsoft, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and former OpenAI board member and Microsoft Vice President Di Templeton.
In October, OpenAI raised $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion. During negotiations with investors, the ChatGPT developer discouraged them from supporting competing firms like Anthropic or xAI.