Elon Musk Demands Up to $134 Billion in Compensation From OpenAI and Microsoft
- Elon Musk estimated the damage caused by OpenAI and Microsoft’s actions to be between $79 billion and $134 billion.
- The lawsuit cites the abandonment of the non-profit model and the commercialization of AI in partnership with Microsoft as grounds for the claim.
- The court rejected the companies’ attempt to dismiss the case and scheduled a jury trial.
Billionaire Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft. He claims that the developer of ChatGPT abandoned its non-profit principles and gained an unfair advantage from its partnership with the tech giant.
The claims are outlined in a court filing submitted after a federal judge rejected OpenAI and Microsoft’s motion to dismiss the case. The jury trial is scheduled for late April in Oakland, California.
The lawsuit states that Musk is entitled to a share of OpenAI’s current valuation, which his side claims is around $500 billion. The claims are based on both the entrepreneur’s direct financial investment in the early stages and his non-financial contribution — technical and strategic advice during the company’s creation.
Musk’s lawyer, Steven Molo, said the investment cannot be considered a normal donation.
According to him, OpenAI has benefited greatly by deviating from its original mission. The plaintiff believes that the profits should be returned to the founder in line with the returns typical of early investments in startups.
Economist Paul Vazzan estimated OpenAI’s alleged unjust enrichment to be in the range of $65.5 billion to $109.4 billion, and Microsoft’s to be in the range of $13.3 billion to $25 billion. These estimates formed the basis for calculating the total amount of compensation. Musk’s representatives hope to prove to the court that this assessment is legitimate.
The defendants rejected the claims, calling the calculations unfounded. The companies’ lawyers said the expert’s methodology was unprecedented and that the compensation sought was thousands of times greater than Musk’s initial investment.
The companies also emphasized that OpenAI’s restructuring was carried out legally and allowed the non-profit division to retain control over commercial activities.
At the same time, they view Musk’s lawsuit as an attempt to put pressure on a competitor on the eve of the trial.
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