The Elon Musk vs OpenAI case has taken yet another drastic turn, with court filings highlighting a mutual ground of compromise being proposed.
Two days prior to the trial of his well-publicized lawsuit against OpenAI, Elon Musk contacted the company’s president Greg Brockman to see whether it would be possible to reach a compromise, according to an exhibit submitted to the court on Sunday night.
According to the document, Musk asked Brockman if there was an opportunity for a resolution of the dispute via a text message.
In his reply, Brockman offered to drop all claims by both parties involved. However, the reaction to the message from Musk was somewhat harsh.
“When Mr. Brockman responded with a suggestion that both sides drop their respective claims, Mr. Musk shot back: ‘By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so it will be,’” the filing says.
That exchange has since become a critical part of the proceeding, which started last week in Oakland, California Federal Court. The attorneys representing OpenAI in the court are trying to get the message considered by the court as evidence to show why Elon Musk decided to file such a lawsuit.
History of the lawsuit
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, filed the lawsuit in 2024 against the company, Brockman, and founder Altman. At the heart of the case is his claim that OpenAI moved away from its original nonprofit mission.
He claims that the organization had transitioned into a for-profit corporation in violation of the values of its foundation, which sought to develop AI for the greater benefit of society.
The hearing had commenced last week, and Musk spent the majority of the first week testifying. In a span of three days, he offered insights on the early years of OpenAI and his efforts in establishing the startup.
He constantly claimed that Altman and Brockman were working to deviate OpenAI from its original objectives, claiming once that they were attempting to “steal a charity.”
At the same time, the lawsuit has put a spotlight on Musk’s activities in the field of artificial intelligence. During his testimony, Musk was interrogated regarding xAI, the firm he had founded after resigning from the OpenAI board of directors in 2018.
In January of this year, Musk acquired xAI and merged it with SpaceX, resulting in an estimated value of $250 billion for the newly formed enterprise.
OpenAI has pushed back strongly against Musk’s claims, calling them “baseless.” The company says its shift to a hybrid structure, including the creation of a for-profit arm in 2018, was necessary to fund the development of advanced AI systems.
The approach got popular after the release of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, resulting in increased investment in the firm and popularity for their product. The value of the firm is estimated to be above $850 billion.
Musk questions OpenAI’s use of early donations
The legal battle involving Elon Musk also concerns the financial support that he provided during the early days of OpenAI. According to the billionaire, the contribution of about $38 million that he made in the early days of OpenAI was meant to serve his purpose of establishing the company for the nonprofit industry, but not for any monetary benefits.
When giving testimony in court, Elon Musk also highlighted the fact that the business aspect of the company became “the tail wagging the dog,” meaning that this aspect started controlling everything else.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers presides over the trial, which is scheduled to resume later this week. The testimony from Brockman can begin on Monday, when he can be interrogated regarding the text message that led to the court battle rather than an out of court settlement.
The trial also involves the larger aspect of corporate structure among some other important things related to the future development of AI firms. As the trial continues, the addition of Elon Musk’s private text message makes the situation even more complex.