The legal battle between American artificial intelligence (AI) OpenAI and its estranged co-founder, billionaire Elon Musk, shows no sign of cooling off anytime soon. In a court filing on Wednesday, OpenAI's attorneys and the other defendants in the case, including CEO Sam Altman, countersued Musk, citing a pattern of harassment by him.
Musk and Altman cofounded OpenAI in 2015, but Musk left before the company became a technology star. Musk, who went on to create his own AI firm, xAI, in 2023, recently tried to prevent the ChatGPT maker from transitioning to a for-profit model, culminating in the current court case.
The suit asked a federal judge to stop Musk from any "further unlawful and unfair action" against OpenAI in a court case over the future structure of the firm that helped launch the AI revolution.
"OpenAI is resilient...But Musk's actions have taken a toll. Should his campaign persist, greater harm is threatened - to OpenAI's ability to govern in service of its mission, to the relationships that are essential to furthering that mission, and to the public interest," the company wrote in a filing in Musk's existing lawsuit against OpenAI in US District Court for the Northern District of California.
"Through press attacks, malicious campaigns broadcast to Musk's more than 200 million followers on the social media platform he controls, a pretextual demand for corporate records, harassing legal claims, and a sham bid for OpenAI's assets, Musk has tried every tool available to harm OpenAI," it added.
OpenAI asked the judge to stop Musk from any further attacks, as well as be "held responsible for the damage he has already caused."
The two parties are set to begin a jury trial in spring next year.
Musk's Response
In response, Musk's legal team referred to a $97.4 billion unsolicited takeover bid earlier this year from a Musk-led consortium, which OpenAI rejected.
"Had OpenAI's Board genuinely considered the bid as they were obligated to do, they would have seen how serious it was. It's telling that having to pay fair market value for OpenAI's assets allegedly 'interferes' with their business plans," Musk's lawyer Marc Toberoff said in a statement provided to Reuters.
Later, in a post on X, OpenAI said: "Elon's nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit."
Elon's nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit. Today, we counter-sued to stop him.
— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) April 9, 2025
The Case
Musk, who is also the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla, sued OpenAI and Altman last year, accusing OpenAI of straying from its founding mission - to develop AI for the good of humanity, not corporate profit.
OpenAI and Altman have denied the allegations, while Altman alleges that Musk has been trying to slow down a competitor.
At stake in the lawsuit is the ChatGPT maker's transition to a for-profit model, which the startup says is crucial to raising more capital and competing well in the expensive AI race. In order for OpenAI to secure the entire $40 billion of its current fundraising round, the company must complete its transition by the end of the year.
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