Elon Musk has criticised the OpenAI’s approach to safety, asserting that his own firm, xAI, takes safety more seriously.

Musk made this disclosure in a deposition recently submitted in his lawsuit against OpenAI.

Musk added, “Nobody has committed suicide because of Grok, but apparently they have because of ChatGPT.”

The remark arose during questioning about a public letter Musk signed in March 2023, in which he urged AI labs to pause development of AI systems more advanced than GPT-4, OpenAI’s flagship model at the time, for at least six months.

The letter, endorsed by over 1,100 signatories—including many AI experts—warned that AI labs lacked sufficient planning and oversight, describing the field as being caught in an “out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one, not even their creators, can understand, predict, or reliably control.”

Concerns have grown as OpenAI faces lawsuits claiming ChatGPT’s tactics harmed users’ mental health, with some suicides reported. Musk’s remarks suggest these cases could support his lawsuit.

His September video testimony was filed publicly this week ahead of next month’s trial.

Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI focuses on its shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit, which he says breaches its founding agreements.

He argues that the company’s commercial ties may compromise AI safety, prioritizing speed, scale, and revenue over caution.

In the newly filed deposition, Musk said he signed the AI safety letter “because it seemed like a good idea,” not because he had recently launched an AI company to compete with OpenAI.

“I signed it, as many people did, to urge caution with AI development,” Musk said. “I just wanted to — AI safety to be prioritized.”

However, xAI has faced its own safety issues. Last month, Musk’s social network X was flooded with non-consensual nude images generated by xAI’s Grok, some reportedly involving minors.