Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk on Tuesday withdrew his lawsuit against OpenAI and its Chief executive officer Sam Altman, marking an unexpected end to a legal battle.
According to a Reuters report, citing  a filing in San Francisco Superior Court, Musk’s attorneys filed a request in the California state court for dismissal without providing a reason for the sudden decision. This move came just before a scheduled hearing in the California state court, where OpenAI was set to argue for the case’s dismissal.
The lawsuit, originally filed in February, accused OpenAI and Altman of deviating from the company’s original mission of developing artificial intelligence for the betterment of humanity. Musk alleged that the startup had shifted its focus towards profit-making endeavors, particularly with its partnership with Microsoft, thus breaching its founding agreement.
OpenAI and Altman have vehemently denied Musk’s claims, stating that there was no formal founding agreement mandating the company’s operations. The ChatGPT-parent also claimed that the billionaire himself advocated for a for-profit structure and even a merger with Tesla. They also countered Musk’s accusations by revealing messages suggesting his previous support for OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit entity.
Legal experts had previously expressed skepticism about the foundation of Musk’s case, highlighting the lack of a formal written agreement supporting his claims. Despite this, the lawsuit had drawn significant attention due to the high-profile nature of the parties involved.
Musk’s decision to withdraw the lawsuit comes amidst increasing competition in the AI space, with his own startup xAI aiming to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Just last month, the company announced it has raised a substantial $6 billion in Series B funding, establishing a post-money valuation of $24 billion, Reuters report noted. The Musk-led AI company has also launched its own chatbot Grok.
Representatives for Musk, Altman, and OpenAI have not provided immediate comments regarding the withdrawal of the lawsuit.
Elsewhere, on Monday, Musk threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies over Apple’s latest partnership with ChatGPT-parent. The announcement comes in response to Apple’s unveiling of its latest artificial intelligence features during WWDC 2024, which include a significant collaboration with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT technology into its devices. Musk expressed serious concerns about potential security breaches and privacy violations resulting from this integration.
