By AFP
Publication Date: 2026-04-28 22:20:00
Elon Musk and OpenAI boss Sam Altman have faced off in California federal court in a blockbuster lawsuit that could have far-reaching consequences for the AI industry and force the ChatGPT maker to fundamentally reshape its business.
The legal battle across the Bay from San Francisco is widely seen as a battle of egos, pitting the world’s richest person against a startup that Mr. Musk once backed and that is now lagging behind in the booming AI sector.
At the heart of the case is Mr. Musk’s accusation that Mr. Altman built OpenAI into an industry giant that sought to dethrone companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft as big tech profit makers, thereby betraying his charitable mission.
Mr. Musk argues in his lawsuit that he was misled that OpenAI’s mission was altruistic.
“We are here today because the defendants in this case stole from a charity,” Mr. Musk’s lawyer, Steven Molo, who was the first to address the court before lawyers for OpenAI and Microsoft, said local time on Tuesday.
The company is…
