Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI Gets a Boost From federal regulators

[Drfun]

Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI just got more attention from federal regulators. While the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) didn't directly back Musk's claims, they did highlight some concerns about OpenAI's plans.



Musk is trying to stop OpenAI from becoming a fully for-profit company. Originally, OpenAI was a non-profit, partly funded by Musk. It then changed to a for-profit company controlled by a non-profit board, but now it wants to separate from that board and become a public benefit corporation. This shift would make the company more focused on making money, rather than sticking to its charitable mission.

A big part of OpenAI's growth has been the massive investment from Microsoft, which competes in the AI space. Musk claims that the involvement of Microsoft board members in OpenAI's board violates antitrust laws. OpenAI, on the other hand, argues that since those people are no longer on its board, the issue is no longer relevant.

The FTC and DOJ lawyers pointed out that simply removing people from the board doesn't automatically solve the legal problem Musk raised. They advised the court to be cautious before dismissing that claim.

However, the federal agencies didn't comment on other parts of Musk's lawsuit, like his claims that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman misled him or worked with Microsoft to hurt Musk's own AI startup, xAI.

While Musk's lawsuit has had its share of drama, the involvement of federal regulators shows they are closely watching OpenAI's changes. The attorney general of Delaware has weighed in on the case, and Meta has asked the California attorney general to stop OpenAI's restructuring if it breaks the law.