Elon Musk has filed a new lawsuit against OpenAI, seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the company from becoming for-profit. Musk’s lawyers argue that the transition would violate US antitrust laws and that, due to alleged self-interested actions by CEO Sam Altman, OpenAI may not have sufficient funds to pay any damages if Musk wins. The injunction request follows news of OpenAI’s plans to become a for-profit company and the start of talks with regulators to pursue structural change.
Musk’s lawyers accuse OpenAI and Microsoft of discouraging investors from funding their competitors, violating the Sherman Act. They also claim that Musk verified that at least one major investor, previously involved in a funding round of Musk’s artificial intelligence), subsequently declined to invest in xAI. Furthermore, they argue that OpenAI benefits from “illegally obtained sensitive competitive information” through ties to Microsoft, in violation of the Clayton Act. According to the lawyers, “the very reason Microsoft got its board seat” was to “coordinate business decisions with OpenAI.” Hannah Wong, a spokeswoman for OpenAI, called the allegations “baseless” and noted that this was Musk’s fourth attempt to make the same complaints.