Judge Rejects Musk’s Bid to Block OpenAI’s For-Profit Shift

Casssie Miller

9 minutes ago

A federal judge has denied Elon Musk’s request to stop OpenAI from operating as a for-profit company. However, the judge has agreed to fast-track a trial on Musk’s key claims against the artificial intelligence company.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Musk did not show a strong chance of winning his case in his request for an injunction. She also pointed to Musk’s recent $97.4 billion offer to buy OpenAI’s nonprofit, saying it weakens his claim that the shift to for-profit status caused him “irreparable harm.”

The judge offered to hold a trial as early as this fall. According to an Associated Press report, she said this was because of the

“public interest at stake and potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law occurred. ”

This keeps Musk’s main claims alive, including his argument that OpenAI broke its original nonprofit commitments.

Musk’s Claims and the Judge’s Concerns

Musk, who invested $45 million in OpenAI between its launch and 2018, argues that the company abandoned its founding mission when it turned for-profit.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers had previously questioned why Musk gave OpenAI such a large sum without a written contract. “That is just a lot of money” to invest “on a handshake,” she said.

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OpenAI welcomed the court’s decision. The company said,

“This has always been about competition. Elon’s own emails show that he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla. That would have been great for his personal benefit, but not for our mission or U.S. interests.”

Musk’s lawyer, Marc Toberoff, responded positively to the judge allowing an expedited trial.

“We look forward to a jury confirming that Altman accepted Musk’s charitable contributions, knowing full well they had to be used for the public’s benefit rather than his own enrichment,”

he said.

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Musk’s Claims and the Judge’s Concerns

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