Elon Musk sought a potential settlement with OpenAI two days before his massive trial against the ChatGPT maker began last week, a new court filing from OpenAI says.
Musk sent a message to OpenAI President Greg Brockman “to gauge interest in settlement” on April 25, according to a filing submitted Sunday evening by OpenAI. The trial, which could shake up the AI race by removing CEO Sam Altman and Brockman from OpenAI’s board if Musk gets his way, kicked off in a federal courthouse in Oakland, Calif. last week.
“When Mr. Brockman responded with a suggestion that both sides drop their respective claims, Mr. Musk shot back: ‘By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so it will be,’” the filing states.
Musk sued OpenAI and its leaders claiming they breached a charitable trust and unjustly enriched themselves by transitioning from a nonprofit to its current structure. The AI company is now a for-profit benefit corporation overseen by a nonprofit foundation.
Musk, who helped co-found and fund OpenAI, claimed the company and its executives deceived him into donating money to help create what is now one of the world’s biggest AI companies, accusing them of “stealing a charity” in his testimony.
