Musk vs. OpenAI trial to get underway

The jury is set to be selected on Monday for a high-profile trial pitting the world's richest person, Elon Musk, against a company he once backed and that is now a major rival in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, OpenAI.

Musk has accused OpenAI CEO Sam Altman of deceiving him into investing millions in the company by claiming it was a nonprofit startup whose technology would benefit the whole world.

The trial, to take place across the bay from San Francisco, is ostensibly about how AI should be used. Many fear the breakthrough technology could be a job killer and an existential threat to humanity's survival.

Some observers, however, also see the case as a personal feud fueled by rivalry, with OpenAI's ChatGPT a top competitor of the chatbot Grok, made by Musk's xAI lab and launched in 2023.

What is at issue in the Musk-Altman trial?

Musk has filed a complaint claiming that Altman convinced him to back OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit lab whose technology "would belong to the world."

After pouring millions of dollars into the startup, Musk later left, while OpenAI went on to create a commercial subsidiary to generate the funds needed for data centers to power its technology.

In his lawsuit, Musk argues that Altman deceived him into believing OpenAI's mission was altruistic.

He has called for OpenAI to be compelled to return to its nonprofit character and has demanded that Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman be ousted.

Musk, who initially sought as much as $134 billion (€114 billion) in damages, has since pledged to redirect any compensation he receives to the OpenAI nonprofit.

OpenAI currently has a hybrid governance structure that gives its nonprofit foundation control over a for-profit arm.

The company, which has been backed by Microsoft to the tune of billions, is now worth some $852 billion.

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What has OpenAI said?

OpenAI has argued that Musk's departure was prompted more by his desire for absolute control than dismay at its nonprofit status.

"This case has always been about Elon generating more power and more money for what he wants," OpenAI said in a recent X post.

"His lawsuit remains nothing more than a harassment campaign that's driven by ego, jealousy and a desire to slow down a competitor." A ruling in the case is expected by mid-May.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse