Elon Musk is pushing to remove OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman from their positions as part of a legal case set to go to trial later this month in Oakland, California.
Musk filed the lawsuit in 2024, claiming that OpenAI misled him into donating $38 million under the promise that the company would remain a nonprofit. In Tuesday’s filing, Musk’s lawyers asked the court to strip Altman from OpenAI’s nonprofit board and remove both Altman and Brockman from the for-profit arm’s leadership. They also want OpenAI to revert fully to nonprofit status.
OpenAI responded on X, saying Musk’s case is “driven by ego, jealousy and a desire to slow down a competitor,” dismissing the lawsuit as a harassment campaign.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018 after attempting to merge it with Tesla. He later founded xAI, which develops AI tools including Grok. SpaceX recently acquired xAI and X (formerly Twitter) in a deal valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion.
The trial’s jury selection begins April 27. Musk previously sought up to $134 billion in damages, claiming OpenAI and its lead investor Microsoft obtained “wrongful gains” from his early support. In the latest filing, Musk’s team is seeking a court order to return those gains to the OpenAI charity.
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