August 5, 2024 Elon Musk has filed a new lawsuit against OpenAI and its founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, just two months after withdrawing a similar suit. The latest complaint alleges that Altman and Brockman abandoned the company’s founding principles by prioritizing profits over public interest.
The suit claims that Altman and Brockman “deceived” Musk into cofounding OpenAI in 2015 by promising it would be a nonprofit focused on safety and openness for the benefit of humanity. Musk asserts that this commitment was betrayed, particularly highlighted by OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft. Describing the situation as “Shakespearean” in its deceit, Musk is now seeking a jury trial to address these grievances.
Musk’s lawyer, Marc Toberoff, emphasized the distinct differences between this lawsuit and the previous one. Toberoff stated that this new case seeks to hold the defendants accountable for their misrepresentations and aims to recover their “ill-gotten gains.” In response, OpenAI referred to a March blog post reaffirming its commitment to ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. They also highlighted Musk’s prior agreement with the company’s fundraising and strategic decisions, which had been part of the initial legal dispute.
This legal battle follows Musk’s original lawsuit filed in March, which was withdrawn in June without explanation. OpenAI had countered the initial claims by releasing emails showing Musk’s support for their direction at the time. The outcome of this renewed legal challenge remains to be seen as Musk continues to push for accountability and adherence to OpenAI’s founding mission.
