OpenAI countersues Elon Musk accusing him of harassment

Investing.com-- OpenAI has filed a countersuit against Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk accusing him of harassment, and sought a federal court injunction to prevent further disruptive actions.

The legal dispute centers on OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit model, a move the company deems essential for securing $40 billion in funding.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but departed before its rise, later established the rival AI firm xAI in 2023 and has since opposed OpenAI’s direction, alleging it deviates from its mission to develop AI for public benefit.

OpenAI’s filing alleges Musk has engaged in social media attacks, frivolous legal actions, and an unsuccessful takeover attempt to damage its reputation and gain control.

"Musk could not tolerate seeing such success for an enterprise he had abandoned and declared doomed. He made it his project to take down OpenAI, and to build a direct competitor that would seize the technological lead—not for humanity but for Elon Musk," OpenAI said in a court filing.

A jury trial is scheduled for spring 2026. 

"Elon’s nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit. Today, we counter-sued to stop him," OpenAI said in a post on social media X.

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