The battle between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and artificial intelligence (AI) firm OpenAI has taken a sharp turn in court. OpenAI has released a statement, criticizing Musk and claiming that his recent legal attacks are driven by “jealousy and regret.”
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Trade AMZN with leverageHowever, Musk alleges that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission and shifted toward profit after he left the firm. The dispute is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, where both sides are presenting very different accounts of how OpenAI was created and what it has become.
OpenAI Frames Musk’s Actions as Personal, Not Principle
In a blog post published on April 28, OpenAI said Musk has spent years attacking it through lawsuits and public insults. The company argued that these attacks are not about protecting AI’s future but stem from anger and rivalry.
To support this, OpenAI pointed to Musk’s own actions in 2017. According to the firm, he pushed to turn OpenAI into a for-profit business. He also proposed either merging it with Tesla (TSLA) or taking full control, including most of the shares and board power. When these ideas were rejected, Musk stepped down from the board in 2018, saying his work with Tesla’s AI could create a conflict of interest.
OpenAI also disclosed internal emails showing that Musk supported a “capped-profit” model, which would allow the firm to become for-profit once it reached major AI goals. As a result, the company says this weakens Musk’s current claim that it abandoned its mission.
OpenAI also accused Musk of filing repeated lawsuits to slow its growth progress. The company believes these actions are meant to benefit Musk’s AI firm, xAI. In its blog post, OpenAI also said Musk’s actions were a result of “jealousy, regret for walking away, and a desire to derail a competing AI company.”
Musk Defends His Position in Court
Musk has laid out a different argument in court. Speaking during testimony on April 28 in a California court, Musk claimed he helped create OpenAI with the idea that AI could transform society.
He said this was why he backed a nonprofit approach focused on safe and open AI systems for users. He claimed OpenAI later changed direction and began prioritizing profit over its main purpose.
Musk described this shift as a “betrayal” of the vision he supported early on. He also said he invested about $38 million, along with skill and influence, during the firm’s early days.
As such, Musk is now seeking up to $150 billion in damages. He also wants OpenAI to return to a nonprofit model and is calling for the removal of CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. As the trial continues, the case could influence how AI firms are created and funded.
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While OpenAI is still a private company with no publicly traded shares, investors interested in AI stocks can consider top players such as Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META), and Amazon (AMZN). Analysts tracked by TipRanks rate all of these stocks a Strong Buy and have set notable price targets for each. To get more information on their forecasts, ratings, and performance, visit the TipRanks Stocks Comparison Center.
