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Musk drops lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI just before court hearing

June 12, 2024

Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI Ends Without Resolution

Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Sam Altman Ends in Dismissal

In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk’s highly publicized lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman has come to an end with a whimper. Musk’s lawyers filed a voluntary dismissal of the case in the Superior Court for San Francisco County, leaving the possibility open for the case to be refiled in the future.

The lawsuit, which was based on a contract known as the “Founding Agreement,” was challenged by the defendants who claimed that Musk had not provided sufficient evidence to support the existence of the agreement. They argued that Musk could not bring a suit based on an agreement that he could not prove existed.

The suit, which attracted significant media attention, revolved around Musk’s claims that OpenAI had strayed from its original mission to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity. Musk portrayed the legal battle as a fight for the future of humanity, while the defendants painted it as a case of sour grapes from a disgruntled competitor.

The dismissal of the lawsuit means that the San Francisco court will not weigh in on the governance issues raised by Musk’s claims. However, questions about OpenAI’s compliance with its nonprofit charter and applicable laws may still be addressed in other forums, such as the state of Delaware where OpenAI was founded.

The reasons behind Musk’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit remain unknown, as neither party has provided a statement on the matter. The involvement of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has the authority to investigate charitable organizations like OpenAI, was also not pursued before the dismissal.

The outcome of this legal battle leaves many unanswered questions about the future of OpenAI and the role of its founders in shaping the development of artificial intelligence technology. The dismissal of the case marks the end of a chapter in the ongoing saga of Elon Musk’s involvement in the AI industry.