OpenAI countersues Elon Musk, claims his $97.4 billion takeover offer was a 'sham bid'

OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman person counter-sued its co-founder turned rival Elon Musk, accusing the billionaire of unfair and fraudulent concern practices. Specifically, ChatGPT's owners assertion that Musk's $97.375 cardinal connection to bargain it retired successful February was a "sham bid" deliberately intended to impede OpenAI's efforts to rise funding.

"Through property attacks, malicious campaigns broadcast to Musk's much than 200 cardinal followers connected the societal media level helium controls [X], a pretextual request for firm records, harassing ineligible claims, and a sham bid for OpenAI's assets, Musk has tried each instrumentality disposable to harm OpenAI," work the lawsuit.

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk says he'll halt trying to bargain OpenAI if it stays a nonprofit

Filed to a California territory tribunal connected Wednesday, OpenAI's countersuit alleges that Musk's connection to acquisition the AI organisation for $97.375 cardinal was not genuine, and was successful information orchestrated to summation an unfair concern advantage. Though Musk was 1 of OpenAI's founders, helium has since near and founded rival xAI.

"Musk has engaged successful these efforts to dilatory OpenAI’s advancement and impair its quality to vie efficaciously successful an progressively crowded field, but besides to prehend and support for xAI an unearned borderline designed to impair contention much broadly for the sole payment of Musk’s xAI, astatine the disbursal of the nationalist interest," alleges OpenAI.

In enactment of its claims, OpenAI argues that determination was nary grounds of disposable backing to backmost Musk's projected $97.375 cardinal acquisition price, and that determination appeared to beryllium nary ground for the fig he'd landed upon "other than a comedic notation to Musk's favourite sci-fi series."

As such, OpenAI alleges that Musk's actions were "intentionally… designed to disrupt [OpenAI's] economical relationships and did successful information disrupt those relationships," stating that its dealings with existent and imaginable investors became "more costly and burdensome" owed to Musk's nationalist acquisition offer. It besides noted that the "threat" of a Musk takeover had OpenAI employees considering the imaginable of "chaos and arbitrary employment action," having seen his handling of Twitter (now X) aft acquiring it successful 2022.

"Without limitation, the bid analyzable the process for undertaking immoderate firm reorganization, and whitethorn yet rise [OpenAI's] outgo of capital," the countersuit claimed.

OpenAI is requesting damages, arsenic good arsenic a imperishable injunction preventing Musk from further interfering with its concern relationships.

"[T]he hazard of future, irreparable harm is acute, successful airy of [Musk's] years-long signifier of abusive conduct, involving, among different things… filing and withdrawing ineligible claims for purposes of harassing [OpenAI] and orchestrating a sham bid to purportedly get [OpenAI's] assets," work the filing. "Every signifier of Musk's run has been designed to unit OpenAI to divert resources, expend money, oregon both."

Elon Musk vs. OpenAI

Musk has made nary concealed of his objection to OpenAI's modulation from a non-profit into a for-profit company, oregon its determination not to merchandise its artificial wide quality arsenic unfastened source. The billionaire initially sued OpenAI past March, claiming that the changes amounted to a breach of contract, and attempting to unit the organisation backmost into a non-profit model. According to Musk, determination had been a "Founding Agreement" that OpenAI's exertion would beryllium unfastened root "for the payment of humanity."

In response, OpenAI alleged that nary specified founding statement existed, producing emails which appeared to show that Musk was alert of its plans to go a for-profit organisation. Musk had reportedly adjacent attempted to instrumentality ownership of OpenAI himself, offering to lick their backing issues successful speech for implicit control. (They declined, and successful 2018 Musk near the organisation.) The billionaire subsequently dropped his suit without mentation successful June, conscionable 1 time earlier a justice was acceptable to perceive OpenAI's petition for dismissal.

Musk's beef wasn't implicit though, and successful August helium filed a caller suit his lawyer called "much much forceful." This clip Musk claimed helium was "manipulated" into co-founding OpenAI, though his arguments were different alternatively akin to those successful his antecedently dropped suit.

"Elon’s nonstop actions against america are conscionable bad-faith tactics to dilatory down OpenAI and prehend power of the starring AI innovations for his idiosyncratic benefit," OpenAI's authoritative X relationship posted connected Wednesday. "Elon’s ne'er been astir the mission. He’s ever had his ain agenda. He tried to prehend power of OpenAI and merge it with Tesla arsenic a for-profit — his ain emails beryllium it. When helium didn’t get his way, helium stormed off."

Though OpenAI did authorities that Musk is "undoubtedly 1 of the top entrepreneurs of our time," it besides called his behaviour "just past connected repetition — Elon being each astir Elon."

Musk's effect has been to edifice to name-calling, posting, "Scam Altman is astatine it again."

OpenAI didn't specify precisely which fictional bid it suspected Musk was referencing with his $97.375 cardinal acquisition offer. However, it wouldn't beryllium the archetypal clip Musk appeared to marque concern decisions based connected gag numbers. The X proprietor antecedently fell afoul of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) successful 2018 erstwhile helium posted that helium was "considering taking Tesla backstage astatine $420" and had "funding secured." This fig is popularly associated with marijuana use, though Musk aboriginal claimed his station wasn't a gag erstwhile called to attest astir it successful court. Tesla presently remains a publically traded company.

It besides wouldn't beryllium the archetypal clip Musk has made an acquisition connection of questionable authenticity. In 2022 the billionaire infamously offered to acquisition Twitter for importantly much than its worth astatine the time. Musk past attempted to backmost retired of the beauteous atrocious concern woody aft Twitter accepted, but was yet forced to spell done with it aft Twitter sued. The company's worth subsequently plummeted nether his leadership, falling by astir 80 percent successful conscionable 2 years.