When Elon Musk promises something will blow your mind, you can at least count on it being entertaining. The billionaire is gearing up for his courtroom showdown with OpenAI and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), and he's not exactly keeping quiet about it.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI back when it was a scrappy nonprofit, has sued the company and its CEO Sam Altman for what he calls outright fraud. His complaint? OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission and morphed into a profit-seeking machine, all while allegedly benefiting from his early financial backing and strategic guidance.
The damages Musk is after aren't exactly pocket change—he's seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft combined. That's based on what he claims are wrongful gains the companies made thanks to his contributions.
On Saturday, Musk took to X to express his enthusiasm for the upcoming jury trial. "Can't wait to start the trial. The discovery and testimony will blow your mind," he wrote. It's the kind of teaser that could apply to a Marvel movie or a high-stakes legal battle—in this case, it's both.
OpenAI and Microsoft aren't taking this lying down. OpenAI has called the lawsuit "baseless," while Microsoft flatly denies any wrongdoing. Both companies have asked the court to restrict what Musk's expert witness can tell the jury, which suggests they're bracing for impact.
Sam Altman responded with his own post on X, accusing Musk of distorting the facts. "Elon is cherry-picking things to make Greg [Brockman] look bad, but the full story is that Elon was pushing for a new structure, and Greg and Ilya [Sutskever] spent a lot of time trying to figure out if they could meet his demands," Altman wrote.
Musk departed OpenAI in 2018 and now runs xAI, a direct competitor. The trial is scheduled to kick off in April, and it could set important precedents for how AI companies navigate the shift from nonprofit idealism to commercial reality. The stakes are high, both financially and for the broader question of ethics in AI development.
