Elon Musk seeks up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft

Elon Musk

• Elon Musk seeks up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft
• Musk alleges OpenAI abandoned its non-profit roots and aligned with Microsoft
• Case set for trial in late April after judge rejected attempts to avoid jury

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Elon Musk is seeking between $79 billion and $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the ChatGPT maker defrauded him by abandoning its non-profit roots and aligning itself with Microsoft, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The demand was detailed in a court filing submitted on Friday, just a day after a federal judge rejected OpenAI and Microsoft’s attempt to avoid a jury trial. The case is now scheduled to proceed to trial in late April, marking a major escalation in one of the tech industry’s most closely watched legal disputes.

According to the filing, Musk’s legal team has relied on calculations prepared by financial economist C. Paul Wazzan, who served as an expert witness. The analysis argues that Musk is entitled to a portion of OpenAI’s current valuation, estimated at around $500 billion, due to what the lawsuit describes as deceptive conduct by the company.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and donated roughly $38 million during its early years. The filing claims that the damages go far beyond that figure, taking into account both Musk’s financial backing and his non-monetary contributions, including technical input and business guidance. Based on this assessment, Wazzan calculated alleged wrongful gains of between $65.50 billion and $109.43 billion for OpenAI, and between $13.30 billion and $25.06 billion for Microsoft.

In the filing, Musk’s lawyer Steven Molo compared the situation to an early-stage startup investment. He argued that just as early investors can see returns far exceeding their initial investment, Musk is entitled to recover gains that OpenAI and Microsoft allegedly accrued through misconduct.

Musk stepped down from OpenAI’s board in 2018 and became one of the company’s most vocal critics after the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. Since then, he has founded his own AI startup, xAI, which develops the Grok chatbot.

OpenAI has strongly rejected Musk’s claims. In a statement, the company said the lawsuit was “baseless” and part of a broader pattern of harassment, adding that it looked forward to addressing the allegations at trial. OpenAI also warned investors to expect further attention-grabbing claims from Musk as the case progresses.

Musk has repeatedly accused OpenAI of becoming a “closed source, maximum-profit company” under Microsoft’s influence, and has personally attacked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in public statements. OpenAI, meanwhile, has argued that Musk left the organisation after failing to secure what it described as absolute control, and has previously said he pushed to merge OpenAI with Tesla.

Last year, OpenAI announced a restructuring that would convert its operating arm into a public benefit corporation, while keeping the non-profit parent in control. As part of that structure, Microsoft holds a reported 27 percent stake in the company.