Why Elon Musk is demanding up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft
Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming they earned massive "wrongful gains" from his early support of OpenAI. He argues that his funding, influence, and credibility were crucial to OpenAI's success and that the companies later abandoned the startup's original nonprofit mission.
New Delhi: Elon Musk has asked a US federal court to award him as much as $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming the two firms unjustly profited from his early role in building the artificial intelligence startup. The demand was detailed in a court filing submitted ahead of a jury trial scheduled to begin in April.
According to the filing, Musk argues that OpenAI and Microsoft generated massive financial benefits from his funding, influence, and credibility during OpenAI’s formative years. He says those benefits now qualify as "wrongful gains” that should be returned to him, even though they far exceed his original monetary contributions.
Claims of massive financial benefit
Musk’s filing states that OpenAI gained between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion from his early involvement, while Microsoft gained between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion. These estimates were prepared by Musk’s expert witness, financial economist C. Paul Wazzan. Musk maintains that, like an early startup investor, he is entitled to outsized returns when a venture succeeds.
Role in OpenAI’s early years
Musk says he contributed roughly $38 million, accounting for about 60% of OpenAI’s initial seed funding. Beyond money, he claims he helped recruit talent, connected the founders with influential contacts, and gave the project public legitimacy when it launched in 2015. He left OpenAI in 2018.
Dispute over OpenAI’s mission
The case revolves around the argument by Musk that OpenAI abandoned its initial nonprofitability by reforming as a profit-making company. The claims have been denied by OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT chatbot, as it has described the accusation as entirely baseless and as a component of a larger campaign by Musk. Microsoft has also refuted the allegations claiming that it has no evidence that it helped any of the alleged mischief.
A judge in Oakland, California, has ruled that a jury will hear the case. If Musk prevails, he may also seek punitive damages and other remedies, including a possible injunction. Musk now runs xAI, which develops the Grok chatbot, a competitor to OpenAI’s products.