- Elon Musk has taken a stand in his lawsuit against OpenAI
- Musk claims the switch from a non-profit organization was illegal
- The verdict in the trial could have consequences for the future of AI
Elon Musk is taking ChatGPT developer OpenAI to court over the switch from a non-profit organization to a for-profit company, and Musk has taken to the court to argue his case before a jury in Oakland, California.
“I think they’re going to try to make this lawsuit very complicated, but it’s actually very simple,” Musk said as soon as he got the chance to speak (via The Wall Street Journal). “It’s not right to steal from a charity.”
In further comments, Musk said that if the lawsuit were to be settled in favor of OpenAI, it would mean the possibility of “losing every charity in America”. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also been in the courtroom, but has not yet taken the stand.
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Some of the wind was taken out of Musk’s sails by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez, who told jurors that the CEO of SpaceX and X was giving his personal perspective on the debate and that his opinion had “no legal value whatsoever”.
‘No Elon Musk, no OpenAI’
They stole a nonprofit. It’s not right. pic.twitter.com/pRDR463USh27 April 2026
The feud at the center of the lawsuit goes back to the earliest days of OpenAI. Musk invested a total of $38 million when OpenAI was in its non-profit phase and had as its mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. The company has since become a more traditional, for-profit venture, with goals that are not quite so noble.
OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman say Musk was well aware that the tipping point would eventually come, and that the change was necessary to effectively compete in a fast-moving, multibillion-dollar AI industry.
“Without Elon Musk, there would be no OpenAI,” Steven Molo, Musk’s lead attorney, said in opening statements for the case. Musk has since started his own xAI company, which includes the Grok chatbot, and is now part of SpaceX.
As the case continues, we can expect to hear about some high-level confidential discussions between executives at OpenAI. The case could have significant implications for the future of AI companies and the way they are regulated by law — and could lead to tighter security protections inside bots like ChatGPT.
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