OpenAI claims Elon Musk tried to sabotage the company with a fake takeover bid and public smear campaign.
The lawsuit says Musk turned hostile after ChatGPT’s success and used X to spread misinformation.
OpenAI rejected Musk’s $97.4B bid, citing fears of repeating the chaos that followed his Twitter takeover.
OpenAI just hit back at Elon Musk—hard. In a countersuit filed April 9, the AI firm accused the billionaire of launching a calculated campaign to tank the company’s reputation and block its growth.
JUST IN: OpenAI files countersuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of leading a deliberate campaign to undermine the organization 👀 pic.twitter.com/NMxxDr4ISR
According to the filing, Musk allegedly faked a takeover bid and waged a public battle using his platform (yep, that includes X) to stir up backlash after OpenAI’s wildly successful launch of ChatGPT. That moment, OpenAI claims, marked a clear shift—Musk, who had long distanced himself from the company, suddenly turned hostile.
“Musk made it his project to take down OpenAI, and to build a direct competitor that would seize the technological lead—not for humanity but for Elon Musk,” the filing states.
What’s the beef?
OpenAI says Musk’s attacks weren’t just personal—they were strategic. The company claims he aimed to damage their credibility in the eyes of the public, partners, and investors. It also accuses him of filing legal challenges, demanding sensitive internal info, and floating what they’re calling a “sham” $97.4 billion buyout offer.
The filing goes further, painting a picture of Musk’s behavior as erratic. One big point of contention? OpenAI’s shift toward a capped-profit model. Musk’s been loud about how that move “betrayed” the nonprofit roots of the company. But OpenAI says, hold on—he was totally on board with that structure change at the time.
“Musk peddles the false claim that OpenAI is planning to ‘convert’ from a nonprofit into a for-profit enterprise… He does so knowing the nonprofit not only would continue to exist, but would be one of the best-resourced in history.”
That Twitter baggage tho…
One big reason OpenAI says they rejected Musk’s takeover bid? Twitter. After Musk bought the platform in 2022, things—well—spiraled. Layoffs, partner fallout, and chaos defined the transition. That, OpenAI claims, made them wary of putting their own company in Musk’s hands.
“Investors, partners, and employees saw what happened to Twitter… the company’s value plummeted, business partners were left hanging, most employees were sent packing…”
So what now?
OpenAI is asking the court to block Musk from further action that could hurt the company and to hold him responsible for the damage done so far. It’s a bold move in what’s shaping up to be a very messy tech feud—and possibly a landmark legal fight in the world of AI.
