Elon Musk has lost a court offer asking a judge to temporarily hold the Chatgpt Openai creator and his Microsoft (MSFT) funds to carry out plans to transform the charity of artificial intelligence into a for -profit business.
But the billionaire at the same time marked a major victory.
In an order refusing the immediate request of Musk, the judge of the Federal District Court of California, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, proposed to hear the heart of Musk Complaint against OpenAi On an accelerated schedule that would define the trial for this fall.
“Given the public interest at stake and the damage potential … The court is ready to accelerate the trial for the fall of 2025,” she wrote in an order issued on Tuesday.
Musk asked for an injunction to arrest Openai, his co -founder Sam Altman, and his biggest investor, Microsoft, to complete Openai’s plans to convert a non -profit organization into a for -profit business – and to transfer any material active belonging to OPENAI or to its subsidiaries, including intellectual properties.
Elon Musk and Sam Altman speak on stage together during a San Francisco event in 2015. (Michael Kovac / Getty Images for Vanity Fair) ·Michael Kovac via getty images
Musk and Altman initially co -founded Openai in 2015 as a non -profit organism, but Musk separated from the IA company for disagreements concerning how to go ahead with the company and finally launched a competitive AI company called XAI.
Musk’s trial seeking to prevent OpenAi’s conversion into a profit company focuses on the initial donation of $ 45 million Musk to finance the startup, which, according to him, was subordinate to OPENAI which remained a non -profit organization.
Altman claims that Musk wanted to merge Openai in his electric lucrative electric vehicle company, Tesla (TSLA), so that Tesla can provide additional funding.
Altman and Microsoft described the allegations of “false” musk and said that he had no legal basis for blocking OpenAi’s for -profit conversion.
Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff said that during a February hearing that OPENAI allows to continue to continue for profit would cause “irreparable damage” to Musk, XAI, to investors and to the public.
“I do not think you have given me a recovery record that you ask,” said Gonzalez Rogers at this February hearing, noting that the injunction requested was rarely granted.
But she agreed that Musk’s complaint has raised questionable questions about the terms of her relationship with Openai. His lawyers said that his gifts had been conditioned on Altman’s commitments to operate Openai as a non -profit organization.
“I do not know what happened, but I certainly do not throw something on a request in rejection when it is plausible that what Mr. Musk says is true,” said Gonzalez Rogers. “We will discover it. He will be sitting on the stand. He will present him to a jury. A jury will decide that is right.”
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, on the right, speaks while Openai CEO, Sam Altman, considers during an event in 2023 in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) ·Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
“It is absolutely plausible that there was an oral contract,” said the judge.
The Musk’s injunction request also asked the judge to prevent defendants from employing nested administrators who could share information competitively and from any agreement with Openai investors to invest in Openai competitors, including Musk XAI.
Musk and a group of investors have since offered to buy Openai for $ 97 billion. Gonzalez Rogers said on Tuesday in his decision that the offer reduced Musk’s assertion that Openai’s conversion into a for -profit business would cause Musk irreparable damage.
Musk also named LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and the management of Microsoft Dee Templeton as defendants, saying that he was illegally as directors of Openai and Microsoft at a time when the two companies were competing on the AI market.
Hoffman has since resigned from the board of directors of the non -profit organization. Templeton is a voting observer.
According to Musk, Altman violated the laws against unfair competition by communicating an edict “fund no competitor” to the current and potential investors of Openai and by orchestrating the positions of the board of directors of Hoffman and Templeton. These are affirmations that the Openai and the lawyer Altman Sarah Eddy denied.
“I have important concerns for Microsoft to put two members or two on the board of directors,” said Gonzales Rogers. “Whether they voted or not – they were always sharing information.”
Gonzalez Rogers was skeptical about the assertion of Musk according to which investors were influenced, even if there was an edict, as well as the claim of Altman according to which such a restriction had never existed.
Musk lawyers told the judge that the alleged restriction was intended to prevent XAI and other rival companies from accessing a small capital basin intended for artificial intelligence and, in turn, to further strengthen the dominant market share of Microsoft AI.
In October 2024, Microsoft paid $ 13.75 billion into Openai. Musk’s lawyer said XAI had collected $ 11 billion after Altman’s alleged mandate, which caused a judge’s skepticism note.
The complete case, said the judge, should not be ready for the trial before 2027 or 2028.
Alexis Keenan is a legal journalist for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on x @alexiskweed.
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