Whereas the authorized battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI is scheduled to start within the spring of 2026, the staff at OpenAI has filed a countersuit accusing Musk of sustained harassment.
The OpenAI/Musk feud up to now
Though the roots of the feud go all the way in which again to the late 2010s and the early days of OpenAI, the authorized battle between Musk and OpenAI formally started in February 2024.
That’s when Elon Musk filed his authentic lawsuit in opposition to OpenAI, alleging the AI firm had strayed from its founding mission as a nonprofit. Whereas that lawsuit was later withdrawn, Musk filed a revised criticism containing the identical core allegations in August 2024.
Musk’s authorized staff additionally sought a preliminary injunction in opposition to OpenAI, which was meant to briefly halt its transition to a for-profit mannequin; nevertheless, that request was denied by the US District Decide Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who as an alternative scheduled a jury trial to start on March 16, 2026.
In February 2025, an funding consortium led by Musk positioned a bid of $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI. The buyout was expeditiously rejected by OpenAI’s board of administrators.
OpenAI’s countersuit
OpenAI’s countersuit revolves round Musk’s alleged ongoing harassment of the corporate. It cites all the occasions talked about above as proof to assist its claims.
The countersuit reads, partially: “Via press assaults, malicious campaigns broadcast to Musk’s greater than 200 million followers on the social media platform he controls, a pretextual demand for company data, harassing authorized claims, and a sham bid for OpenAI’s property, Musk has tried each software obtainable to hurt OpenAI.”
OpenAI isn’t denying its intentions to transition to a for-profit mannequin; the corporate says it’s a needed step that may assist them preserve competitiveness within the ever-growing client AI market. Nevertheless, OpenAI insists it’s staying true to the unique aim of growing AI for the betterment of humanity as an alternative of focusing solely on company income.
In response to OpenAI, the corporate should full its transition to a for-profit mannequin by the tip of 2025. Failure to take action would price OpenAI a considerable portion of the $40 billion the corporate secured throughout its most up-to-date spherical of fundraising.
If Musk’s lawsuit is profitable, it appears OpenAI might want to abandon its for-profit mannequin fully — a transfer that would jeopardize the way forward for the corporate. For now, each events await the upcoming jury trial in spring 2026.
