logo
OpenAI Publishes Emails in Response to Elon Musk Lawsuit

OpenAI Publishes Emails in Response to Elon Musk Lawsuit

March 7, 2024

OpenAI fired back at Elon Musk, who sued the ChatGPT company last week for chasing profit and diverging from its original, nonprofit mission. Tuesday night, OpenAI released a blog post Tuesday night containing several emails from Elon Musk, appearing to contradict his recent legal action against the company.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Sam Altman and others, sued the company last week, alleging it strayed from its original mission as a non-profit and pursued financial gain through partnerships like its collaboration with Microsoft.

OpenAI Publishes Emails in Response to Elon Musk Lawsuit

Emails Suggest Musk Supported Monetization Strategies

The published emails, partially redacted, show Musk acknowledging the need for significant funding to support OpenAI's AI ambitions. In a 2015 email to Altman, Musk suggested a $1 billion funding commitment and promised that he would cover whatever did not get raised. OpenAI said in the plog post, Musk never fulfilled his promise, contributing only $45 million while other donors raised $90 million. Lawyers for Musk declined to comment on OpenAI’s claims.

In a 2018 email, Musk reportedly suggested that the only path forward for OpenAI was for his electric car company, Tesla, to buy it, which the company declined. Musk later left OpenAI in the same year. OpenAI Forms For-Profit Entity for Growth

OpenAI Publishes Emails in Response to Elon Musk Lawsuit

Further emails show Musk expressing concerns about OpenAI's future without substantial resource investment. He reportedly stated in a 2018 email, “This needs billions per year immediately or forget it,”. “I really hope I’m wrong.”

OpenAI executives acknowledged his concerns, leading to the formation of OpenAI LP, a for-profit subsidiary formed in 2019. That for-profit company took OpenAI from effectively worthless to a valuation of $90 billion in just a few years

Microsoft has since committed $13 billion in a close partnership with OpenAI.

OpenAI Publishes Emails in Response to Elon Musk Lawsuit

OpenAI Intends To Seek Dismissal of Musk's Lawsuit

OpenAI maintains it remains committed to its core mission, emphasizing the broad accessibility and positive societal impact of its AI technology. The company intends to seek dismissal of Musk's lawsuit, which claims a breach of contract and seeks financial compensation from OpenAI and its leadership.

“We’re sad that it’s come to this with someone whom we’ve deeply admired—someone who inspired us to aim higher, then told us we would fail, started a competitor, and then sued us when we started making meaningful progress towards OpenAI’s mission without him,” the company said in its blog post.