Judge Indicates Musk's Fraud Lawsuit Against OpenAI Will Proceed to Trial

"...It looks like Sam Altman and Elon Musk are headed for a courtroom showdown...."

"...During a hearing on Wednesday, a California judge said she plans to reject Altman's lawyers' last-ditch efforts to end Musk's case against OpenAI and its CEO...."

"...In his lawsuit filed in 2024, Musk accused OpenAI of misleading him in its decision to abandon its original nonprofit mission and structure in favor of a profit-oriented model, including through its partnership with Microsoft...."

"...Musk says he donated $38 million to the maker of ChatGPT over the years to support its mission to develop AI for the benefit of humankind...."

"...At a hearing on Wednesday, an Oakland federal court judge said she felt there was enough evidence that Musk may have been deceived to allow the case to move forward to a jury...."

"...OpenAI lawyers have denied Musk's allegations, saying Musk was aware of the company's for-profit plans as early as 2018...."

"...OpenAI has also pointed out that it is still controlled by OpenAI's nonprofit arm...."

"...Musk has filed multiple lawsuits against OpenAI...."

"...Most recently, his AI company, xAI, sued OpenAI in September, accusing it of stealing trade secrets and targeting its employees for recruitment...."

"...Musk helped found OpenAI in 2015, but left the company in 2018...."

"...At the time he said his work with OpenAI could present a conflict of interest with Tesla's AI ambitions...."

"...Since, Musk has repeatedly criticized Altman and OpenAI, including the company's structure...."

"...Musk later went on to launch his own AI company, xAI, in 2023...."