OpenAI on Tuesday, countered Elon Musk’s assertions that the company had deviated from its original mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity and not for profit.
In a blog post, OpenAI affirmed its commitment to its mission and addressed Musk’s claims, indicating its intent to dispute them.
According to OpenAI, Musk proposed that the company merge with Tesla, his electric vehicle manufacturing company, and forwarded an email suggesting OpenAI “attach to Tesla as its cash cow.”
This suggestion arose after both Musk and OpenAI had decided to establish a for-profit entity in 2017 to raise capital for developing artificial general intelligence.
OpenAI stated that Musk sought majority equity, initial board control, and the CEO position at OpenAI. However, negotiations on the for-profit terms fell through because OpenAI believed it was contrary to the mission for any individual to have absolute control over the organization.
Elon Musk, in his lawsuit against OpenAI, claimed that the three founders initially agreed to work on AGI with the goal of benefiting humanity. He also highlighted his push for OpenAI to announce a $1 billion funding commitment in 2015, surpassing the initial plan of raising $100 million by CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman.
In response to Musk’s lawsuit, OpenAI expressed regret over the situation, describing Musk as someone they deeply admired but who took legal action against them as they made meaningful progress toward OpenAI’s mission.
Musk’s lawsuit is seen as a culmination of his ongoing opposition to OpenAI, which has gained prominence in generative AI and received substantial funding from Microsoft. Musk subsequently founded his own AI startup, xAI, in July of the previous year.
