A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Elon Musk must face harassment claims brought by OpenAI, marking the latest development in a long-running dispute between the Tesla and SpaceX chief and the AI company led by Sam Altman. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found there was enough evidence for the claims to proceed, rejecting Musk’s bid to have them dismissed.
OpenAI alleges that Musk engaged in a years-long campaign to damage the company’s reputation after leaving its board and launching his own rival AI venture, xAI. Musk co-founded OpenAI but resigned in 2018 before starting the competing firm.
In her written opinion, Gonzalez Rogers suggested neither party had acted entirely in good faith, accusing both Musk and OpenAI of “gamesmanship” and noting that each side had reversed positions over the course of the dispute.
The Broader Legal Battle
The harassment claims are part of a larger legal fight. Musk has sued OpenAI for breach of contract after it changed from a nonprofit to a for-profit corporate structure. He has also publicly challenged the company and Altman on X. OpenAI countersued, leading to Tuesday’s decision that the harassment allegations could proceed.
This lawsuit is one of several overlapping battles among major tech companies. Musk recently threatened legal action against Apple, claiming without evidence that the company deliberately suppressed xAI’s Grok app in its App Store to benefit OpenAI. Meanwhile, Meta and OpenAI are locked in an aggressive hiring race, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg investing heavily to secure top AI talent.
Author’s Opinion
These high-profile fights between billionaires may generate headlines, but they do little to advance the actual technology or benefit everyday users. Instead of focusing on lawsuits and public jabs, these companies could achieve more by competing through product quality, safety, and innovation.
Featured image credit: Heute
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