Elon Musk will have to answer OpenAI's harassment claims in court
A court rejected this week Elon Musk's effort to dismiss OpenAI's claims of harassment. It represents just the latest development in a complicated battle between Musk and OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company run by Sam Altman.
The long and short of it: The fight between the tech bros will continue apace. Nothing has been decided in the case, but, as Reuters reported, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Musk has to face harassment claims from OpenAI, which accuses the xAI chief of engaging in a years-long campaign to harm the AI company.
Musk helped start OpenAI and previously served on its board, but later resigned and started xAI, a rival artificial intelligence company.
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In her decision, the judge seemed to be annoyed with both Musk and OpenAI, accusing them of gamesmanship. “The gamesmanship of both sides is obvious, as each flip flops,” Gonzalez Rogers wrote, according to Bloomberg.
The drama has played out on social media and in courtrooms. Musk sued OpenAI for breach of contract after it transitioned to a for-profit corporate structure, and he has also repeatedly challenged OpenAI and Altman on X. Altman's OpenAI countersued and, on Tuesday, the judge ruled there were enough grounds for the harassment claims to move forward.
This is just one of many current feuds among tech overlords. On Monday night, Musk threatened to sue Apple, alleging (sans evidence) that the tech giant suppressed the app store ranking of xAI's Grok app in order to protect — you guessed it — OpenAI. Meta and OpenAI, meanwhile, remain locked in a battle for AI supremacy, with Meta's chief Mark Zuckerberg shelling out wheelbarrows of cash to poach talent.
It seems no matter where you look these days, the tech companies are feuding. It feels safe to assume we can expect more of the same for the foreseeable future.
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
