The conflict between OpenAI and its co-founder Elon Musk has entered a new phase, with the AI firm now filing a countersuit accusing Musk of harassment and disruptive tactics. OpenAI filed the countersuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, requesting the court to prevent Musk from engaging in what it describes as continued unlawful actions designed to harm the company’s operations. The lawsuit seeks to halt Musk’s alleged harassment, as well as hold him accountable for the damage OpenAI claims he has already inflicted.
Elon Musk had co-founded OpenAI a decade ago, and later departed from the company before it made a name for itself in the global AI landscape, aided by the development of ChatGPT. OpenAI, now under the leadership of CEO Sam Altman, now seeks to restructure itself from a non-profit research lab into a for-profit entity to raise significant funding required to compete in the capital-intensive AI sector. The company has argued that this transition is necessary to secure up to $40 billion in new funding.
However, Musk has voiced strong opposition to this restructuring, claiming that it contradicts OpenAI’s original mission. His criticism escalated into legal action last year when he sued OpenAI and Altman, alleging that the company had strayed from its founding principles in pursuit of profit. Now, OpenAI’s latest filing accuses Musk of pursuing a deliberate strategy to harm the company through various means. The company claims that Musk has used his vast social media following on X, the erstwhile Twitter and now owned by Musk, to broadcast attacks against OpenAI. It also alleges that Musk has engaged in frivolous legal claims, made a pretextual demand for internal corporate records, and submitted a takeover bid that the company describes as a sham.
“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. Today, we counter-sued to stop him,” the AI firm announced on X. “He’s been spreading false information about us. We’re actually getting ready to build the best-equipped nonprofit the world has ever seen – we’re not converting it away.”
“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 filing. The case is expected to go to a jury trial in spring 2026.
In addition to the allegations of harassment, OpenAI rejected a $97.4 billion takeover bid from a consortium led by Musk earlier this year. OpenAI characterized the bid as a strategy aimed at interfering with its operations rather than a genuine acquisition offer. Musk’s legal representatives have defended the bid, claiming that OpenAI’s board failed to properly evaluate the offer as required. “Had OpenAI’s Board genuinely considered the bid as they were obligated to do they would have seen how serious it was,” Marc Toberoff, Musk’s lawyer, commented on the matter.
