Why Elon Musk is seeking $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft in court

Elon Musk says OpenAI and Microsoft earned billions from his early support and now owes him those gains, as a jury trial in the case is set for April

Elon Musk has raised the stakes in his legal battle with OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming the two companies made massive profits from his early backing of the artificial intelligence startup and now owe him a share of those gains, news agency Reuters reported.

 

In a court filing submitted on Friday, Musk said he is seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing that he is entitled to the “wrongful gains” they earned from his contributions during OpenAI’s early years.

 

Billions in gains claimed by Musk

 

According to the filing, OpenAI benefited the most from Musk’s early support. He estimates that the ChatGPT maker gained between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion from his involvement as a co-founder starting in 2015.

 

 

Microsoft, which later became a major partner and investor in OpenAI, is said to have gained between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion, Musk claimed. The filing was submitted ahead of Musk’s trial against both companies in federal court.

 

OpenAI has earlier described the lawsuit as “baseless” and part of a “harassment” campaign by Musk. A Microsoft lawyer has said there is no evidence the company “aided and abetted” OpenAI.   

 

Dispute over OpenAI’s mission

 

Musk left OpenAI in 2018 and now runs rival AI company xAI, which operates the chatbot Grok. He alleges that OpenAI broke its original mission by restructuring itself into a for-profit entity.

 

A judge in Oakland, California, ruled earlier this month that the case will go to a jury trial, which is expected to begin in April.

 

In the filing, Musk said he contributed around $38 million, accounting for 60 per cent of OpenAI’s early seed funding. He also said he helped recruit staff, connect founders with key industry contacts, and lend credibility to the organisation in its early days.

 

“Just as an early investor in a startup company may realise gains many orders of magnitude greater than the investor's initial investment, the wrongful gains that OpenAI and Microsoft have earned – and which Musk is now entitled to disgorge – are much larger than Mr Musk's initial contributions,” Musk argued.

 

If the jury finds either OpenAI or Microsoft liable, Musk may seek punitive damages and other penalties, including a possible injunction.

 

X announces $1 million reward for top article

 

Musk-owned social media platform X has announced a major cash incentive aimed at boosting long-form writing on the platform.

 

X will offer a $1 million prize for the best-performing long-form article published during its next payout cycle, making it one of the largest creator rewards ever announced by a social media company.

 

The announcement was made last week through X’s Creators account, which said the “top article” of the upcoming payout period would win the prize. Responding to the post, Musk wrote: “$1M prize for the top X article.”

 

According to rules published on X’s legal platform, the contest will run from January 16 to January 28. It is open only to legal residents of the United States and Washington, DC, who are at least 18 years old.

 

Employees of X and their immediate family members are not eligible to participate.

 

Participants must be subscribers to Premium or Premium+ and publish an original article on X during the contest period. While creators can submit multiple entries, each article must meet the platform’s eligibility criteria.

 

(With agency inputs)