After about three weeks of trial, a federal judge in California has ruled against Elon Musk in his legal fight with OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman. However, Musk has made it clear that he is not stepping away from the fight and plans to continue the case through an appeal. For those unaware, the lawsuit was based on Musk’s claim that OpenAI moved away from its original non-profit mission and became a profit-focused organisation. He argued that the company’s leadership benefited financially after changing its direction.
According to Bloomberg, the jury claimed that Musk filed the lawsuit too late. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said, ‘I think there is a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury’s findings.’
Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff compared the verdict to major setbacks in American history, and suggested that the fight is far from over. ‘This reminds me of key moments in this country’s history, the Siege of Charleston, the Battle of Bunker Hill. These were major losses for Americans, but who won the war? This one is not over,’ Toberoff said.
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Following the verdict, Musk criticised the ruling on X (formerly Twitter). He claimed that the court never actually examined the core accusations he made against OpenAI. Instead, he argued that the case was dismissed because of a timing-related technical issue.
Musk wrote, ‘Regarding the OpenAI case, the judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality.’ ‘There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!’
He also warned that the ruling could create a harmful example for charities in the US. He confirmed that he plans to appeal the decision in the Ninth Circuit Court.
Musk said he would continue the legal battle because creating ‘a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America.’
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