Elon Musk has responded to the dismissal of his lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman, saying the court decision was based on a calendar technicality rather than the substance of the case.
In a post on X, Musk said the judge and jury did not actually give ruling on merits of the case, pointing to the jury’s finding that the lawsuit had been filed after the statute of limitations had expired.
Musk also announced plans to appeal the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that allowing such a precedent could damage charitable organizations in the United States.
“There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity, the only question is WHEN they did it1…I will be filing an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, because creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America” – Musk
The lawsuit centered on OpenAI’s transition from a non-profit research organization into a company with significant commercial operations tied to artificial intelligence products, including ChatGPT.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 before leaving in 2018, argued that the organization abandoned its original mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity after accepting his financial support.
OpenAI rejected the accusations during the trial as Altman testified that Musk had previously supported the idea of a for-profit structure and had sought greater control over the company. OpenAI’s legal team also argued that the lawsuit lacked factual basis.
The case contributes to existing debates over how artificial intelligence organizations balance public-interest missions with commercial expansion.
Details later….
