OpenAI filed a countersuit against Elon Musk on Wednesday, accusing the Tesla CEO of a sustained campaign of harassment and asking a federal judge to bar him from further “unlawful and unfair actions” amid a high-stakes legal dispute over the company’s future direction.
Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman co-founded the organization in 2015, though Musk departed before OpenAI rose to prominence as a leader in artificial intelligence. In 2023, Musk launched his own AI venture, xAI, and has since sought to block OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit model—an effort that has culminated in the current court case.
OpenAI, which is seeking to raise $40 billion in its latest funding round, must complete its transition to a for-profit entity by the end of the year to secure the full investment.
In its legal filing, OpenAI accused Musk of using a wide array of tactics to harm the company, including public attacks, legal threats, and a takeover attempt. “Through press attacks, malicious campaigns broadcast to Musk’s more than 200 million followers on the social media platform he controls, a pretextual demand for corporate records, harassing legal claims, and a sham bid for OpenAI’s assets, Musk has tried every tool available to harm OpenAI,” the company stated in its court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
OpenAI requested that the court prevent Musk from further interference and hold him accountable for damages already inflicted.
The dispute is scheduled to go to a jury trial in spring 2026.
Musk’s legal team pointed to an earlier $97.4 billion unsolicited takeover bid from a Musk-led group, which OpenAI rejected. “Had OpenAI’s board genuinely considered the bid as they were obligated to do, they would have seen how serious it was,” said Musk’s attorney Marc Toberoff in a statement to Reuters. “It’s telling that having to pay fair market value for OpenAI’s assets allegedly ‘interferes’ with their business plans.”
OpenAI responded to Musk’s actions in a post on X, the social media platform he owns, stating: “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.”
In a recent development, Musk’s xAI acquired X in a deal valuing the platform at $33 billion, a move that ties the value of his AI company to co-investors in the social media platform.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, originally sued OpenAI and Altman last year, alleging the company abandoned its founding mission to pursue AI for the benefit of humanity rather than corporate gain. OpenAI and Altman have denied these claims, with Altman asserting Musk is merely trying to hinder a competitor’s progress.
Musk has not publicly commented on the countersuit.
