OpenAI fires back at Elon Musk's for-profit lawsuit, claims he wanted to have a for-profit component

OpenAI has fired back at Elon Musk’s lawsuit, claiming he was the one who originally pushed for a for-profit model and wanted full control over the company. In a new court filing on Friday, OpenAI argued that Musk’s own emails reveal he envisioned a for-profit arm for OpenAI and wanted to run it himself. This latest move adds fuel to the growing feud between Musk and the AI giant he helped launch back in 2015.

Musk’s lawsuit seeks to block OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman from shifting the organisation, currently overseen by a nonprofit, into a more conventional corporate structure. OpenAI, now at the forefront of the AI revolution, has evolved significantly since its inception, requiring huge investments to power its operations.

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Musk’s email reveals a lot

At the core of OpenAI’s rebuttal are emails exchanged between Musk, Sam Altman, and other OpenAI co-founders like Ilya Sutskever. These communications reportedly show that Musk was pushing for a for-profit structure in which he held majority control and equity. OpenAI even disclosed that in 2017, Musk attempted to incorporate a public benefit corporation named “Open Artificial Intelligence Technologies, Inc.”

The filing suggests Musk was eager to lead the AI venture, but when his demand for total control wasn’t met, he stepped away, predicting OpenAI’s failure. OpenAI pointed out that Musk’s current stance is ironic, given that he now runs xAI, a direct competitor. The company argued Musk’s lawsuit was less about OpenAI’s structure and more about his rivalry with its success.

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OpenAI and fears around AGI

One particularly striking email from September 2017, sent by Ilya Sutskever to Musk and the team, pushed back against Musk’s insistence on control. Sutskever highlighted concerns that Musk’s terms would give him “unilateral absolute control” over the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). While Musk claimed he didn’t want to control AGI, the negotiation suggested otherwise.

Sutskever wrote that OpenAI’s goal was to “make the future good and avoid an AGI dictatorship,” raising concerns that Musk would ultimately retain control as OpenAI made progress towards AGI. These emails paint a picture of a power struggle that surfaced years before Musk’s current legal battle.

Lawsuit set to get dirty

While OpenAI has released these emails in a blog post to back its claims, the context remains open to interpretation. Early discussions also referenced Y Combinator, the startup incubator Sam Altman was leading at the time, and whether OpenAI should operate under its umbrella.

For now, OpenAI has made clear that Musk’s lawsuit is yet another attempt to challenge the company’s direction, even as it cements itself as a leader in AI research. With both sides locked in this high-stakes showdown, the battle over OpenAI’s structure and Musk’s role in its history is far from over.