Elon Musk sues OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, says ‘deceit is of Shakespearean proportions’: Report

Elon Musk who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 sued CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman for fraud and breach of contract

Published on: Aug 5, 2024, 19:55:48 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Abhyjith K. Ashokan

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Elon Musk is suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman in federal court for fraud and breach of contract, according to a Deadline report, which added that “The perfidy and deceit is of Shakespearean proportions,” as per the California court filing.

Elon Musk is suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman in federal court for fraud and breach of contract (Representational/Getty Images)

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“Once OpenAI’s technology approached AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), Altman and his accomplices flipped the script,” the complaint read, according to the report.

“OpenAI’s focus shifted from its advertised charitable purpose – to benefit the public and protect humanity – to a vehicle for Altman and his partners’ self-enrichment," the report citing the complaint, added. "This is most clearly evidenced in OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft and the proliferation of an opaque web of for-profit OpenAI affiliates, recently valued at a whopping $100 billion.”

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Elon Musk was the co-founder of OpenAI, investing millions into creating it in 2015. However, he was caught in a boardroom battle, leadin him to sue the company to make it “return to its mission to develop AGI for the benefit of humanity.”

However, OpenAI said in court that Musk initially supported a for-profit structure for OpenAI, which would be controlled by himself, but dropped the idea when his wishes weren't followed.

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Musk pulled out of the lawsuit on June 11 with an option to refile down the line, which is what is happening now.

Elon Musk will be represented in court by Marc Toberoff, the same attorney who has taken on Warner Brothers and Disney‘s Marvel on behalf of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Fantastic Four and X-Men co-creator Jack Kirby, plus just last year, the estate of Spider-Man and Iron Man co-creator Steve Ditko. He also represented singing legend Ray Charles, once winning a preliminary injunction against Warner Bros on a Dukes of Hazzard movie on behalf of the indie film on which the TV series was based.

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HT News Desk
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