In a stunning twist in the battle for control over the future of artificial intelligence, OpenAI has filed a countersuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of engaging in “nonstop bad-faith tactics” aimed at slowing down the company’s progress and seizing control of its innovations.
This legal move marks a dramatic escalation in the feud between OpenAI, one of Silicon Valley’s most influential forces, and the man who once helped create it.
A War of Control, Not Just Code
A lawsuit was served on Wednesday. OpenAI alleges that Musk has been trying to manipulate the company’s trajectory to serve his interests, especially as the race for advanced AI intensifies.
“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,” the company quoted.
The Backstory
Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI alongside Sam Altman and others in 2015 but left the organization in 2018 after reportedly clashing over its direction. Since then, OpenAI has grown into a major player in the AI industry, especially following its partnership with Microsoft and the release of products like ChatGPT.
In the previous year, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman, claiming the organization had betrayed its original mission to develop OpenAI for the benefit of humanity as a non-profit entity by transforming into a for-profit powerhouse. A federal judge recently denied Musk’s request for an injunction to halt that transformation but set a trial date for March 2026.
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Allegations & Reactions
The countersuit accuses Musk of attempting to dominate the AI field by discrediting OpenAI and spreading misinformation about its motives and structure. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), OpenAI claimed, “Elon’s never been about the mission. He’s always been about his agenda.”
Industry experts believe this feud isn’t just about ethics, it’s simply about dominance. “This is about control. This is about revenue,” stated Ari Lightman, a professor at Carnegie Mellon. “Making AI safe and equitable takes a backseat to all this rigmarole over power and monetization.”
Enter xAI and X
Meanwhile, Musk’s AI startup xAI is ramping up its ambitions. Last month, xAI absorbed the social media platform X, and the merged entity XAI Holdings is now valued at over $100 billion, according to Musk’s knowledge.
Earlier this year, Musk made a bold $97.4 billion offer to acquire OpenAI, an offer that was made to Altman, who promptly and cheekily rejected it by replying: “No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you are interested”.
The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever
This isn’t just a legal fight, it’s a battle over the soul of AI. As both OpenAI and xAI move forward, the outcome of this conflict could have massive implications on who controls the next wave of intelligence, open collaboration for the public good or a centralized power play for technological dominance.
