Musk Drops Lawsuit Against OpenAI

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Jun 12, 2024

Above: Elon Musk and Sam Altman speak at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit on October 6, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Image copyright: Michael Kovac/Contributor/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Imagesstory last updated Jun 13

The Facts

Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday dropped a lawsuit he'd filed in February against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman for allegedly abandoning the firm's founding non-profit mission.
Musk had alleged a breach of contract in OpenAI, turning its artificial intelligence (AI) project into a for-profit entity even though he said it was launched "for the benefit of humanity."

The Spin

Narrative A

Now a for-profit entity aligned with Microsoft, OpenAI no longer publishes or open-sources its research, contradicting its founding principles. The Sam Altman-led firm is hypocritical in commercializing its powerful AI models, such as GPT-4. Musk's questions are relevant even if they don't have a legal bite.

Fortune

Narrative B

The least that can be said about Musk's lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI is that he aimed to advance his own commercial interests and AI ventures. His assertions are convoluted and baseless, and probably fueled by envy since he left OpenAI before its success exploded in the public consciousness.