Elon Musk has revived his lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing Sam Altman of constructing a “Shakespearean” web of deceit in its pivot to a for-profit model that includes its partnership with Microsoft.
The X owner originally sued in March, but withdrew the action in June without explanation. The new lawsuit was filed late last week in the Northern District of California, alleging fraud and breach of contract.
The Tesla founder says he was duped into investing $45 million when OpenAI was billed as a nonprofit venture to safely develop artificial intelligence “for the benefit of humanity.” Musk says Altman has since constructed an illegal network of affiliates to exploit those assets, alleging fraud and breach of contract.
The SpaceX boss is also seeking a court order to invalidate OpenAI’s license with Microsoft and unspecified damages in a jury trial.
Musk joined a group of Silicon Valley titans to launch OpenAI in 2015 “for the public benefit,” and specified that its revenues not benefit any one company officer or individual investor.
More to come …
