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Elon Musk says OpenAI was his idea, before executives looted it

Musk says OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission and seeks $150 billion in damages that would go to the charity, lawyers said.

  • On Tuesday, Elon Musk testified in federal court against OpenAI, accusing CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman of betraying the nonprofit mission by creating a for-profit entity, seeking $134 billion in damages and executive removals.
  • Musk co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit research lab in 2015, investing at least $38 million before leaving in 2018; the company created a for-profit subsidiary in 2019 to secure computing power and capital.
  • Defending OpenAI, lead attorney William Savitt argued the lawsuit stems from competitive spite, stating, "We're here because Mr. Musk didn't get his way at OpenAI," and claiming Musk sought control and a Tesla merger.
  • Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will decide by late May whether OpenAI must revert to nonprofit status, remove Altman and Brockman from leadership, or pay around $130 billion in damages to the nonprofit foundation.
  • A verdict for Musk could force OpenAI to unwind its for-profit conversion, threatening a planned IPO and compelling Microsoft and other investors to reassess regulatory risks across the rapidly expanding AI sector.
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Center

On the second day of the trial between the two tech giants, Elon Musk accuses OpenAI of betraying his philantropic idea while the company...

·Brussels, Belgium
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Center

The entrepreneur told his version of how things went in OpenAI: he wanted to create an anti-Google entity that could develop AI for the benefit of humanity. Altman would violate the initial pacts

·Italy
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Lean Right

According to tech entrepreneur and OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk, his involvement in founding the company behind ChatGPT was not about personal gain, but about establishing a non-profit organization. "In a tear-jerking plea, Musk stated with conviction that it was never about the money for him," says tech editor Joe van Burik. Musk ultimately puts the American charity system itself at stake as well, because OpenAI's original mission has reportedly…

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Benzinga broke the news in New York, United States on Tuesday, April 28, 2026.
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