Elon Musk lawsuit against OpenAI seeks up to $109 billion in damages

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO claims OpenAI generated unlawful profits from his early support and abandoned its original nonprofit mission

The Elon Musk lawsuit against OpenAI has entered a new phase, with the billionaire entrepreneur seeking damages of up to $109.4 billion. In court filings submitted Tuesday to a California court, Musk accuses the developer of ChatGPT of generating “unlawful profits” derived from his early financial and strategic support as a co-founder.

According to documents filed by Musk’s attorneys, the claim is supported by an expert assessment produced as part of a legal dispute that has been ongoing since 2024. Musk argues that he was unlawfully deprived of the economic value of his original investment in OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015.

OpenAI has rejected the allegations. In a public statement, the company said Musk has “seriously misrepresented” written documents and reiterated that his claims are unfounded.

An expert consulted by Musk’s legal team stated that the South African-born billionaire contributed approximately $38 million to OpenAI’s early funding. In addition to direct financial backing, the expert report notes that Musk provided key industry contacts and technical expertise during the organization’s formative years. Based on those contributions, the expert estimates that Musk would be entitled to a share of OpenAI’s current valuation, assessed at between $65.5 billion and $109.43 billion.

At the core of the Elon Musk lawsuit against OpenAI is the claim that the company abandoned its original mission. Musk contends that OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring that artificial intelligence research benefits humanity as a whole. He argues that the company has since shifted course and now primarily serves the commercial interests of Microsoft, its major partner and investor.

OpenAI counters that the latest filing represents the fourth legal action brought by Musk and characterizes it as an attempt to slow the company’s operations. According to OpenAI, the legal pressure is aimed at benefiting xAI, the artificial intelligence startup Musk founded in 2023, whose chatbot Grok competes directly with ChatGPT.

As the Elon Musk lawsuit against OpenAI continues, the case is shaping up to be one of the most significant legal battles in the artificial intelligence sector, raising broader questions about governance, mission drift, and the valuation of early contributions in fast-growing tech companies.

THE LATEST NEWS

[recent_post_slider design=”design-07″ show_author=”false” slider_height=”390″ lazyload=”progressive” limit=”6″ category=”11728″]

(Photo: © AndKronos)