OpenAI Countersues Musk, Accuses Him of Harassment and Attempted Control

On April 9, local time, OpenAI filed a countersuit against Elon Musk, alleging harassment and seeking a federal judge to prevent Musk from taking any further illegal and unfair actions against OpenAI. This includes actions such as media attacks and malicious propaganda. The lawsuit centers around Musk's alleged attempts to slow down the company's development and seize control. OpenAI's legal team, along with other defendants including CEO Sam Altman, submitted a legal document on Wednesday, requesting measures to prohibit Musk from "further engaging in illegal and unfair behavior."

The legal battle revolves around OpenAI's corporate structural transformation and mission fulfillment. OpenAI has been pushing to transition from a non-profit organization to a for-profit company, similar to its competitor Anthropic. This transition is seen as a crucial step in securing the necessary funds to develop the best AI models. If the transition is successful, OpenAI's operations will no longer be controlled by its non-profit board, making it more attractive to investors. The non-profit organization will retain a minority stake, and OpenAI has emphasized that its transition will preserve a non-profit arm to fund charitable projects in areas such as healthcare, education, and science.

Recently, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI will proceed to a jury trial in the spring of 2026. The judge, from the Northern District of California, last month rejected Musk's request to halt OpenAI's transition to a for-profit model. The judge proposed accelerating the trial process, stating that Musk had not met the high evidentiary threshold required for a preliminary injunction to stop OpenAI from becoming a for-profit entity.

OpenAI's lawyers, in a 100-page filing, stated that "Musk has been working to slow down OpenAI's progress, weaken its ability to effectively compete in this increasingly crowded field, and seize and maintain an unfair advantage for xAI, all to the broader detriment of competition and at the expense of the public interest." OpenAI claims that due to Musk's "unfair" actions, it has already suffered harm and is seeking a jury trial.

Additionally, OpenAI's countersuit filed on Wednesday alleges that a consortium led by Musk made a "false" offer of 974 billion dollars to acquire OpenAI in February. This offer was intended to impede the startup's ability to raise funds and damage its relationships with investors and clients. Altman stated that OpenAI would not sell and pointed out that this was another tactic by Musk to disrupt their operations. Analysts suggest that Musk's lawsuit may have delayed OpenAI's restructuring process, prompting OpenAI to take countermeasures.