OpenAI Slams Elon Musk's Lawsuit As Driven By 'Ego, Jealousy And Harassment' After xAI CEO Pledges Any Damages To Nonprofit

• “This case has always been about Elon generating more power and more money for what he wants,” OpenAI said.
• Musk and Altman have been warring since Tesla's founder left OpenAI to launch his own AI firm, xAI.
• The Musk–OpenAI nonprofit trial is set to begin on April 27, 2026, with proceedings taking place in Oakland, California.  

OpenAI on Tuesday hit back against Elon Musk’s proposal to donate potential winnings from his lawsuit back to OpenAI, saying that it’s only the latest attempt by the billionaire executive to “save face” in his “baseless legal case.”

“The truth is that this case has always been about Elon generating more power and more money for what he wants. Having increasingly realized that his attempt to damage the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation rests on a baseless legal case, Elon is once again trying to change the narrative and save face as the trial approaches,” OpenAI said in an X post. Musk’s “lawsuit remains nothing more than a harassment campaign that's driven by ego, jealousy and a desire to slow down a competitor.”
 

Earlier in the day, Musk amended his lawsuit and pledged to donate the full $150 billion in damages to OpenAI’s non-profit arm, should he win, the Wall Street Journal reported. Following OpenAI’s latest post on X, Musk appeared to double down on his stance by reposting a comic depicting Altman siphoning money from the company, only to be confronted by Musk at gunpoint before the funds are returned to the nonprofit arm.
 

In the amendment, Musk is also seeking the removal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman from the OpenAI nonprofit’s board and that OpenAI President Greg Brockman turn over any equity or other financial benefits to the charity arm.

Musk had sued OpenAI, seeking damages from the AI company and its chief investor and partner, Microsoft, arguing that OpenAI strayed from its nonprofit mission and defrauded him as a donor in seeking to convert it into a for-profit company. 

Musk and Altman were co-chairs when OpenAI started as a research lab in 2015. Musk left OpenAI in 2019 over a dispute about control and direction of the organization, and the two tech titans have been feuding – largely in public – ever since.

Musk, whose xAI competes directly with OpenAI, has also sued the AI company, along with Apple, over what he claims is preferential treatment for ChatGPT on Apple’s App Store. 

Earlier in the week, OpenAI wrote a letter to the attorneys general of Delaware and California, accusing Musk of “circulating false and wholly unfounded allegations in a last-ditch effort to discredit OpenAI and its leadership.” 

In the letter, OpenAI asked the officials to investigate “improper and anti-competitive” behavior by Musk and his associates.

The development comes as OpenAI and SpaceX prepare for public market listings this year, which would be among the biggest in history.

To be sure, Altman has had a checkered past himself. He was abruptly ousted as CEO in November 2023, then swiftly reinstated in a major shakeup after OpenAI's board expressed lack of confidence in his leadership.

A new New Yorker report, based on more than 100 interviews, alleges that Altman repeatedly misled employees, investors, and board members, pointing to a broader pattern of behavior.

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