Elon Musk seeks injunction against OpenAI, Microsoft in antitrust battle
OpenAI faces accusations of anticompetitive behavior
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and co-founder of OpenAI, has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against OpenAI, its leadership, and key partner Microsoft. Musk’s legal team accuses the defendants of engaging in practices that suppress competition and undermine the organization’s founding principles.
The lawsuit was filed on Friday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to TechCrunch.
The motion alleges that OpenAI, under the leadership of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, used its connections with Microsoft to deter investments in competing AI ventures such as Musk’s xAI. Musk’s legal team claims that investors in OpenAI’s recent funding round were pressured to avoid supporting competitors, effectively restricting xAI’s access to capital. OpenAI, once a nonprofit organization focused on accessible AI development, is accused of betraying its original mission in favor of profit-driven motives.
Microsoft's role and allegations of unfair advantage
The case also highlights Microsoft’s significant influence over OpenAI’s operations, including a $13 billion investment and the provision of extensive cloud resources. Musk’s attorneys argue that these arrangements, combined with self-serving financial decisions by OpenAI’s leadership, create an unfair market advantage. For instance, Altman’s alleged financial interest in Stripe, selected by OpenAI as its payment processor, is cited as evidence of improper behavior.
Criticism of OpenAI's transformation
Musk’s grievances go beyond financial conflicts. The injunction asserts that OpenAI’s transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit organization has fundamentally altered its mission, sidelining commitments to the public interest. Musk’s legal team warns that without judicial intervention, OpenAI may continue to make decisions that cause irreparable harm to competitors, consumers, and the AI industry as a whole.
This is not the first time Musk has clashed with OpenAI. A co-founder of the organization, Musk left in 2018 over strategic disagreements. Since then, he has accused OpenAI of exploiting his $44 million donation under the pretense of addressing shared ethical concerns about artificial intelligence. Musk’s company, xAI, launched last year and has quickly positioned itself as a major player in AI, recently raising $5 billion and developing its generative AI model, Grok.
OpenAI's response and legal implications
In a statement, OpenAI rejected Musk’s accusations as baseless and repetitive, noting that this marks the fourth legal attempt to challenge the company’s actions. The organization maintains that its recent decisions align with its commitment to advancing safe and beneficial AI.
As the court deliberates Musk’s request for an injunction, the case highlights growing tensions in the AI industry, where issues of competition, ethics, and governance are becoming increasingly contentious. The success of Musk’s efforts to halt OpenAI’s actions could have far-reaching implications for the future of artificial intelligence.
Notably, Musk and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong have previously accused SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and Senator Elizabeth Warren of orchestrating a "mass debanking" scheme targeting the crypto and tech sectors. Simultaneously, Musk himself is again suspected of manipulating the price of Dogecoin.
