OpenAI Urges Probe into Musk Before Trial

OpenAI sent a letter to the California and Delaware attorneys general, urging them to investigate "anti-competitive behavior" by Elon Musk and his associates. Jason Kwon, OpenAI's strategy chief, alleged that Musk has been working to undermine OpenAI through various "attacks" on the company, including by working with Meta's Mark Zuckerberg. Jury selection for a high-profile trial between Musk and OpenAI is slated to begin on April 27. OpenAI warned that Musk's lawsuit, seeking more than $100 billion in damages, could cripple its nonprofit foundation. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and left in 2018, later launched rival AI company xAI. He sued OpenAI in 2024, arguing the organization abandoned its original mission as it moved toward a for-profit structure. OpenAI has defended its restructuring, stating that while it is transitioning towards a for-profit model, its nonprofit arm will retain control. The company has also confirmed that Microsoft holds a 27 per cent stake under the revised structure. The outcome of this trial will extend well beyond OpenAI and Musk. It will test whether a nonprofit AI lab can convert to a for-profit structure without facing legal obstruction from founders who left years ago, and whether courts will treat that conversion as a breach of mission. The verdict sets precedent for how future AI governance disputes are handled. For agencies and developers watching the AI industry, governance and ownership structures at the top labs affect everything downstream: model access, API pricing, research direction, and safety commitments.