- OpenAI called Elon Musk’s lawsuit “incoherent” in a recent legal filing.
- Musk’s suit says the company breached its “founding agreement.” OpenAI says that doesn’t exist.
- The company says Musk is using the lawsuit to “advance his own commercial interests.”
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OpenAI called Elon Musk’s lawsuit “incoherent” and “contradictory” in a recent legal filing that was made public on Monday.
OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, says Musk is disguising his efforts to “advance his own commercial interests” behind his claims that he’s suing to benefit “humanity” — and is jealous of the company’s success without him.
“Seeing the remarkable technological advances OpenAI has achieved, Musk now wants that success for himself,” OpenAI’s filing reads.
Earlier this month, Musk sued OpenAI and some of its cofounders, alleging the company had breached its “founding agreement” and was at risk of violating its nonprofit mission of benefiting humanity through its partnership with Microsoft.
In this most recent response to Musk’s lawsuit, OpenAI’s lawyers argue that Musk has based his lawsuit on a fictitious founding agreement “to lay unearned claim to the fruits of an enterprise he initially supported, then abandoned, then watched succeed without him.” The company also says that Musk was supportive of a for-profit structure for OpenAI.
OpenAI’s filing says the company trusts the case will warrant “an early and swift dismissal” and calls for a judge to give the case a “complex” designation in order to expedite the process and avoid making the discovery process too burdensome for the parties involved. Legal experts previously told Business Insider that Musk’s case is shaky at best and the lawsuit is likely to be dismissed before it reaches trial.
It’s not the first time OpenAI has spoken out against Musk’s claims. Shortly after Musk filed his lawsuit, OpenAI released a series of emails that appeared to show Musk saying he’d agree to the company’s for-profit shift and that the AI venture should “attach to Tesla as its cash cow.”
Musk has said he invested tens of millions of dollars into OpenAI during its founding but walked away from the company’s board in 2018. At the time, Musk said he’d left to avoid a potential conflict of interest with Tesla and its AI efforts.
Since then, Musk has launched his own AI startup, xAI, and has repeatedly criticized OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman.
Representatives for Musk and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
