OpenAI files lawsuit against Elon Musk, demanding that the American billionaire stop his "illegal" and disruptive actions.
"Through press attacks, malicious content reaching more than 200 million followers on the X platform, Musk has made harassing legal claims, and made false attempts to hijack OpenAI. Musk has tried every tool available to harm OpenAI," CNN quoted the content of the lawsuit filed by OpenAI to the Northern District Court of California late on April 9.
In the lawsuit, OpenAI asked the judge to stop Musk from "conducting any attacks" against the company in the future. They also emphasized that the American billionaire "must be held responsible for the damage caused.
The trial will take place in the spring of next year, with no specific date set.
Marc Toberoff, Musk's attorney, did not comment directly on the lawsuit. However, he referred to the $97.4 billion offer to buy OpenAI earlier this year. "If the OpenAI board actually considered the offer and the obligations, they would see how serious it was," Toberoff told Reuters. "OpenAI's assets were paid fair market value but are allegedly 'interfering' with their business plan."
In an April 10 post on X, OpenAI said: "Elon's relentless actions against us are nothing more than a bad faith tactic to slow OpenAI down and gain control of leading AI initiatives for his own personal gain."
Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman and others in 2015 before leaving in 2019. The billionaire has since repeatedly criticized the company for pursuing profit, which has gone against its original non-profit goals. Last year, he sued OpenAI and Altman for allegedly defrauding him.
Earlier this month, Musk asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent OpenAI from switching to a for-profit model. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Oakland County Court in California later rejected the billionaire's request, citing insufficient evidence.
However, Ms. Rogers said she was ready to hold an early trial in the fall to consider Musk's allegations that OpenAI's transition plan was illegal. The judge said she wanted to resolve the case quickly because "the public interest is at stake and there is a risk of harm if an unlawful transition occurs."