Elon Musk withdraws lawsuit against OpenAI's Sam Altman
What's the story
Elon Musk has voluntarily withdrawn his lawsuit against OpenAI, a company he co-founded, and its two co-founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. The lawsuit was filed in a California state court in February, accusing the defendants of breaching their contract and fiduciary duty. The case was dismissed without prejudice, as confirmed by a court filing obtained by CNBC. The decision to withdraw the lawsuit came just a day after Musk publicly criticized OpenAI's new partnership with Apple.
Legal foundation
Musk's lawsuit questioned by legal experts
The lawsuit was scheduled for a hearing in San Francisco on Wednesday, where the judge would have considered the defendants' request for dismissal. Legal experts had previously questioned the foundation of Musk's case, as the contract central to the suit was not a formal written agreement signed by all parties. Musk had alleged that OpenAI's original mission to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) for humanity's benefit had been hijacked by Microsoft.
Case details
Musk's lawsuit highlights OpenAI's success
Musk's 35-page complaint, filed in March, highlighted his pivotal role in the creation of OpenAI, which has become one of the most successful startups globally. The company's success is largely attributed to the widespread use of its language model, ChatGPT. Musk's lawsuit also alleged that Altman and Brockman had deviated from their original plan to create an open-source, non-profit company. The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, meaning Musk could refile it at a later date.
Counterargument
OpenAI's response to Musk's lawsuit
OpenAI had argued in a court filing that Musk's lawsuit was based on incoherent claims and was a deliberate attempt by him to further his own AI interests. The company's attorneys stated, "Seeing the remarkable technological advances OpenAI has achieved, Musk now wants that success for himself." Musk, in a filing in April, said OpenAI was trying to "advance arguments that are based on disputed facts" that are beyond the scope of the lawsuit.