Musk Sought OpenAI Settlement Days Before Trial, Filing Shows
SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk sought to settle his lawsuit against OpenAI just days before their trial was set to begin, according to court filings reported by CNN on Friday.
Musk texted OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman about a potential settlement approximately two days before the trial commenced, the filing indicates.
The case centers on OpenAI’s transition from its original nonprofit structure to a for-profit entity — a conversion Musk has challenged as a betrayal of the organization’s founding mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.
Musk, who was among OpenAI’s earliest backers before departing the organization’s board in 2018, filed suit alleging that OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman had abandoned the nonprofit’s original charter in pursuit of commercial interests. The lawsuit has raised questions about AI governance, corporate structure and the obligations of organizations that receive tax-exempt contributions.
OpenAI has maintained throughout the proceedings that its restructuring is necessary to attract the capital required to pursue its mission of developing safe artificial general intelligence. The company has argued that Musk’s claims lack legal merit and that his own competing AI venture, xAI, represents a conflict of interest underlying the litigation.
The case raises questions about how AI organizations structure themselves and manage fiduciary obligations to donors and the public. Several state attorneys general have also scrutinized the restructuring, adding regulatory dimensions to the legal dispute.
The trial proceedings are being watched by AI researchers, investors and policymakers as a courtroom test of AI governance norms.
