Elon Musk's lawyer says OpenAI's reform proposal 'changes nothing'

By Rachel Metz

  Elon Musk’s attorney said OpenAI’s decision to partly walk back its plan to restructure as a for-profit business “changes nothing,” a sign the billionaire may continue with his legal crusade against the startup led by Sam Altman. 

“OpenAI’s announcement is a transparent dodge that fails to address the core issues: charitable assets have been and still will be transferred for the benefit of private persons, including Altman, his investors and Microsoft,” Marc Toberoff, Musk’s lead counsel in pending litigation against OpenAI, said in a statement late Monday. 

 

Earlier in the day, the ChatGPT maker said it would move forward with an effort to restructure its for-profit division as a public benefit corporation, but the overall business will instead remain under the control of its nonprofit — a major shift in its plans that will effectively maintain the contours of how OpenAI is currently set up.

 

The decision to maintain the nonprofit’s control of the company came after OpenAI faced pressure from former employees, academics and rivals, including Musk, who co-founded the startup a decade earlier before leaving and later launching his own AI company. 

 

Musk previously asked a judge to block OpenAI from becoming a for-profit business. The judge rejected Musk’s request but has allowed parts of his lawsuit to proceed. Musk also made an unsolicited and unsuccessful $97.4 billion bid to buy the assets of the nonprofit that controls OpenAI. 

 

“Elon continuing with his baseless lawsuit only proves that it was always a bad-faith attempt to slow us down,” an OpenAI spokesperson told Bloomberg News. The company has previously suggested Musk is simply using the legal system to try to impede a competitor.

 

In the statement Monday, Toberoff said the AI startup’s revised restructuring plan looks to be designed to avoid legal scrutiny but still goes against the founding mission of the company, which was to develop AI for the benefit of all people.

 

“The founding mission remains betrayed,” he said.