Elon Musk Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI for Prioritizing Profits

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in a San Francisco court, Tesla CEO Elon Musk accused OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of prioritizing profit over humanity.

Musk’s legal representatives asserted that in 2015, Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman approached Musk, leading to an agreement to establish a non-profit laboratory aimed at developing artificial general intelligence for the betterment of humanity.

According to the filed lawsuit, Musk, who disassociated himself from OpenAI in 2018, played a significant role in the creation of OpenAI and provided the majority of its initial funding. Microsoft emerged as the primary investor following a 2020 agreement.

The lawsuit further alleged that OpenAI is currently engaged in the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a theoretical form of AI capable of outperforming human intelligence, with a focus on profitability rather than serving humanity’s interests.

Musk’s legal team contended in the lawsuit that OpenAI’s emphasis on maximizing profits for Microsoft violates the original agreement. “Under its new Board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity,” the filing stated.

Meanwhile, OpenAI’s ChatGPT debuted in November 2022 and quickly became the fastest-growing consumer application in history, paving the way for the development of rival chatbots by companies like Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft.

Microsoft’s agreement with OpenAI has drawn criticism from competitors in the U.S., the EU, and the UK.