Elon Musk adds Microsoft to lawsuit against ChatGPT-maker OpenAI

28.11.2024

Elon Musk has escalated his dispute with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, by amending a lawsuit against it to include Microsoft as a defendant. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, accused the organization and Microsoft of monopolistic practices in a legal complaint filed on Thursday. This comes after previous lawsuits where Musk claimed OpenAI deviated from the founding principles he helped establish in 2015.

The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI has evolved from its original mission as a tax-exempt nonprofit to a $157 billion for-profit enterprise that stifles market competition. It also accuses Microsoft and OpenAI of using their dominant position to eliminate rivals in the AI sector, including Musk’s own company, xAI. According to the filing, these actions have resulted in “unjust enrichment” for the defendants while misleading both Musk and the public.

OpenAI has dismissed Musk’s claims as baseless, with a spokesperson calling his latest attempt to reframe the allegations “even more groundless and overreaching” than earlier efforts. They pointed to previous communications from Musk, made public during earlier legal disputes, as evidence that contradicts his assertions. Microsoft, meanwhile, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The amended complaint also names LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman as a defendant. It builds on a prior lawsuit filed in California in August, further accusing OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, of “self-dealing” and prioritizing personal gain. Musk’s initial lawsuit, filed in March, had already argued that OpenAI had become a “closed-source subsidiary” of Microsoft, undermining its original purpose.

These renewed claims coincide with Musk’s selection by President-elect Donald Trump for a government role focused on reducing bureaucracy. The move, part of Trump’s broader agenda to streamline administration, adds another dimension to Musk’s high-profile battles in both the business and political arenas.