Elon Musk and Sam Altman have reached an agreement to fast-track the trial for their dispute regarding OpenAI's transition to a for-profit entity.
Background of the Dispute
In a recent court filing on Friday, both Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI proposed moving the trial to December and postponing the decision on whether a jury will be involved in the case.
Elon Musk, who was a co-founder of OpenAI along with CEO Sam Altman, has been in conflict with the organization since he departed from its board of directors in 2018. The formal dispute began last year when Musk initially filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in a California state court. Subsequently, he withdrew that lawsuit and filed a new one in federal court in August the following year. Musk alleged that OpenAI had strayed from its original mission by introducing a for-profit division in 2019 and strengthening its partnership with Microsoft in 2023.
Legal Developments
Earlier this month, a judge rejected Musk's attempt to prevent Altman from transforming OpenAI into a fully commercial enterprise. However, the judge agreed to expedite certain aspects of the lawsuit to be tried in the autumn.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed Musk's plea for an injunction against OpenAI's restructuring, deeming it as "exceptional and seldom granted." Nevertheless, she expressed readiness to accelerate a trial concerning "interconnected contract-based allegations" due to the "public interest involved."
Responses from the Parties
OpenAI chose not to provide a comment immediately. Nonetheless, in a blog post on Friday, the company expressed satisfaction with the court's decision and anticipated presenting its argument in opposition to Musk's "unsubstantiated, self-serving lawsuit."
"We are committed to maintaining the non-profit as an integral part of our efforts to fulfill our mission, and ensuring that it is not only sustained by a successful business but is in a more robust position than ever," stated OpenAI.
Recent Events
Earlier this year, Musk was part of a consortium that made a $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI, a proposal promptly rejected by Altman.
Altman, speaking in an interview at the Paris AI Action Summit, remarked, "I think his entire life is rooted in insecurity. I empathize with him. I don't believe he is content. My heart goes out to him."
The original article was published on Business Insider.
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By: rrommen@insider.com (Rebecca Rommen,Lakshmi Varanasi)
Title: Elon Musk and Sam Altman Agree to Expedite Trial for OpenAI Dispute
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-sam-altman-openai-trial-2025-3
Published Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2025 19:33:31 +0000
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