Elon Musk is pressing forward with his legal battle against OpenAI, escalating his conflict with CEO Sam Altman. Musk claims OpenAI has deviated from its original mission as an open-source, nonprofit AI developer.
During a recent interview, Musk asserted that OpenAI is now prioritizing financial gain by becoming a closed-source, for-profit entity. He likened the situation to funding a rainforest preservation nonprofit that instead becomes a lumber company.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and later founded xAI, alleges OpenAI betrayed its mission by creating a for-profit arm and expanding its Microsoft partnership. OpenAI maintains its nonprofit will remain in control, dismissing Musk's lawsuit as a bad-faith attempt to hinder progress.
Musk's legal team argues OpenAI's recent commitment to retain nonprofit control is merely a facade. They claim it does not restore the company's original goal of serving the public good. An OpenAI spokesperson stated Musk's lawsuit is baseless and intended to slow them down.