The US tech giant OpenAI has filed a legal lawsuit against Elon Musk, stating that Musk is trying to hurt the firm on purpose. The company has claimed that Musk has been harassing them and using unfair plans and methods to mess with their work.
OpenAI alleges that Musk is attempting to gain control over their artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Essentially, they accuse Musk of using misleading tactics to slow their progress and monopolize their innovations. This action is a response to Musk’s prior legal schemes against OpenAI, escalating the conflict into a broader legal battle.
Back in 2015, Elon Musk and Sam Altman together started OpenAI to work on AI research. However, Musk left the firm a few years later, before OpenAI became a big name in tech. Further, in 2023, Musk started his AI company, xAI.
Now, OpenAI wants to change from a nonprofit to a for-profit company so it can raise $40 billion in funding, but it has to finish this change by the end of 2025 to get all the money. Musk has been trying to stop this switch, which has led to a lawsuit between him and OpenAI. They are fighting over OpenAI’s future and how it’s run.
OpenAI submitted a legal document in a court case that Elon Musk had already started against them. This incident happened in a federal court in Northern California. The firm has responded to Musk’s lawsuit by stating that, “Through press attacks, malicious campaigns broadcast to Musk’s more than 200 million followers on the social media platform he controls, a pretextual demand for corporate records, harassing legal claims, and a sham bid for OpenAI’s assets, Musk has tried every tool available to harm OpenAI.”
As per the reports, OpenAI has asked the judge to make Elon Musk stop trying to harm them and to make him pay for the trouble he’s already caused to the firm.
Musk’s lawyers have fired back, pointing out that earlier in 2025, Musk and a group he led offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion, but OpenAI said no. Musk’s team says this offer was serious, and if OpenAI’s leaders had thought it over properly, they would have seen its value.
OpenAI has shared a post on X stating that, “Elon’s nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his benefit.”
In 2024, Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, by stating that OpenAI was breaking its original promise to build AI to help humanity, not to make money for a big company.
Additionally, Musk didn’t comment when asked about OpenAI’s latest court filing. OpenAI and Altman say Musk’s claims aren’t true, and Altman thinks Musk is just trying to hold back a rival.
The lawsuit is a big deal because OpenAI wants to switch from being a nonprofit to a for-profit company. They say this change is key to raising $40 billion so they can keep up in the costly race to build better AI. Musk’s actions could mess up that plan, which is why they’re fighting in court.
However, OpenAI has just secured a mammoth $40 billion in funding with Japanese SoftBank Group. A jury trial will also be held in the spring of 2026 for both sides.
