Elon Musk’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the billionaire’s lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, bringing an end to the legal dispute between the co-founders of the artificial intelligence startup.
Musk, who was a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015, had filed the lawsuit in February, alleging that the company, known for creating ChatGPT, had deviated from its original nonprofit mission by keeping some of its most advanced AI technology exclusive to private customers.
The lawsuit had originally requested a jury trial and for the company, Altman, and co-founder/president Greg Brockman to reimburse any profits they made from the business.
OpenAI swiftly responded to Musk’s allegations by describing them as “incoherent” and “frivolous,” and argued in a court filing for the dismissal of the case.
The company also released a blog post containing several of Musk’s emails from the early days of OpenAI, which seemed to indicate his recognition of the need for substantial funds to support the company’s AI ambitions.
This contradicted Musk’s lawsuit claims that OpenAI was improperly pursuing profits. Musk’s legal team did not provide a reason for their request to withdraw the lawsuit in Tuesday’s filing, and a hearing on OpenAI’s motion to dismiss the case was scheduled for Wednesday.
The decision to withdraw the lawsuit occurred after Musk publicly criticized OpenAI’s handling of user data on his social media platform X, following Apple’s announcement of a partnership integrating ChatGPT with Siri on an opt-in basis.
Musk stated that if Apple integrates OpenAI at the operating system level, he would ban Apple devices at his companies due to security concerns. (Apple clarified that user queries sent to ChatGPT will not be stored by OpenAI as part of the announcement.)
The legal dispute between Musk and OpenAI highlighted their contrasting views on the management of ChatGPT, a rapidly growing leader in the emerging AI field.
Musk alleged that OpenAI was rushing to develop highly profitable “artificial general intelligence” technology, while OpenAI countered by suggesting that Musk was envious of not being part of the company after his departure in 2018, when his attempt to persuade his co-founders to let Tesla acquire it was unsuccessful.
OpenAI dismissed Musk’s claims as “fiction,” but other individuals have also expressed concerns about the company’s leadership and direction.
Last year, OpenAI faced a prominent leadership crisis that resulted in Altman being temporarily removed from his position due to concerns from several board members about the risks of artificial intelligence.
After a period of uncertainty and intervention by Microsoft, Altman was reinstated, seen as a win for those looking to commercialize AI technology.
More recently, multiple high-profile safety leaders left OpenAI, publicly stating that the company prioritized rapid product rollout over safety. The company later announced the formation of a new committee to advise the board on safety and security matters.
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