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Elon Musk is pursuing up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming he is entitled to recover what he describes as “wrongful gains” these companies profited from due to his early involvement with the AI startup, as stated in a court filing on Friday.
According to Musk, OpenAI earned between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion from his contributions during its founding stages in 2015, while Microsoft made between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion from his involvement. These figures are detailed in a federal court document filed ahead of his upcoming trial against both corporations.
Representatives for OpenAI, Microsoft, and Musk’s legal team did not respond immediately to requests for comments outside of regular business hours.
OpenAI has dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless” and accused Musk of launching a “harassment” campaign. A Microsoft attorney also stated there is no proof that the company “aided and abetted” OpenAI in any wrongdoing.
Both companies challenged Musk’s damage claims with a separate legal filing on Friday.
Musk, who parted ways with OpenAI in 2018 and now leads xAI, a competitor with its chatbot Grok, alleges that OpenAI breached its original mission during a controversial transition to a for-profit model.
A judge in Oakland recently ruled that a jury will hear the case, with proceedings expected to begin in April.
In the filing, Musk states he contributed roughly $38 million, which accounted for about 60% of OpenAI’s early seed funding. He also claimed to have helped recruit talent, connect founders with key contacts, and lend credibility to the project in its initial stages.
He argues that just as early startup investors can realize returns much greater than their initial investment, the “wrongful gains” earned by OpenAI and Microsoft are significantly larger than Musk’s original contributions, and he is now entitled to recover those gains.
An expert, financial economist C. Paul Wazzan, calculated Musk’s contributions and potential damages.
Musk might also seek punitive damages and additional penalties, potentially including an injunction, if the court finds either company liable, though specifics about the nature of such an injunction are not provided.
OpenAI and Microsoft, in their response, asked the court to restrict what Musk’s expert can present to the jury, criticizing his analysis as “made up,” “unverifiable,” and “unprecedented.” They also argued that his damage estimates are unreliable and could mislead the jury, particularly regarding the transfer of billions from a nonprofit to a former donor now serving as a competitor.
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