OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Elon Musk's lawyers dealt with off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's request for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit business.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a "stretch" for Musk to claim he will be irreparably damaged if she does not intervene to stop OpenAI from moving on with its shift from a nonprofit research study lab to a for-profit corporation.
But the judge likewise raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with business partner Microsoft and said she would not stop the case from transferring to trial as quickly as next year so a jury can decide.
"It is plausible that what Mr. Musk is stating is true. We ´ ll find out. He ´ ll sit on the stand," she said.
Musk, an early OpenAI financier and board member, took legal action against the artificial intelligence business last year, initially in a California state court and larsaluarna.se later in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research study lab benefiting the public excellent. Musk had invested about $45 million in the start-up from its starting till 2018, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Musk intensified the legal conflict late in 2015, bbarlock.com adding new claims and defendants and requesting a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s plans to transform itself into a for-profit organization more completely. Musk also added his own AI business, xAI, as a plaintiff.
Also targeted by Musk's claim is OpenAI's close company partner Microsoft and tech business owner Reid Hoffman, chessdatabase.science a previous OpenAI board member who also rests on Microsoft's board.
Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for authorizing the type of initial injunction that Musk desires however hasn't yet ruled on the demand. She did state she had "significant issues" with 2 individuals connected to Microsoft on OpenAI's board - Hoffman and long time Microsoft executive Deanna Templeton, who was a "non-voting observer."
"So you desire me to think that she was sitting there listening to all the conversations and not informing anyone? What would the point be for her to sit there and listen to everyone, if not to communicate what she was listening? There would be no point for her to be there, which is why she really needs to not exist," she said.
Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, has actually been on Microsoft ´ s board considering that soon after the tech giant purchased the job networking website. He stepped down from OpenAI's board in 2023 to avoid disputes with his AI startup, Inflection.
Templeton, who Musk also called as an accused, was added as a non-voting member of OpenAI ´ s board in the aftermath of Altman ´ s ouster after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella looked for more stability on the board. But months later on, she was dropped from the OpenAI board as U.S. antitrust enforcers were expressing concerns about such arrangements on corporate boards.
The judge has managed a number of tech market cases including Apple's battle with Epic Games, though she said Tuesday that Musk's case is "nothing like" that a person. That case was likewise the last time she gave a preliminary injunction, higgledy-piggledy.xyz in 2020, 8 months before the case went to trial.
Then-President Barack Obama selected Gonzalez Rogers to the federal bench in 2011.
Tuesday's hearing was originally set for January however was postponed after Musk's lawyer Marc Toberoff said his home was damaged in the Pacific Palisades wildfire.
Musk, who did not participate in the hearing, has declared in the claim that the business are violating the regards to his foundational contributions to the charity. Judge Gonzalez Rogers called it a "stretch" to claim "irreversible damage" to Musk, and tandme.co.uk called the case "billionaires vs. billionaires." She questioned why Musk invested 10s of in OpenAI without a composed agreement. Toberoff said it was due to the fact that the relationship between Altman and Musk at the time was "built on trust" and the two were very close.
"That is simply a lot of cash" to invest "on a handshake," the judge said.
OpenAI has said Musk ´ s requested court order would "debilitate OpenAI ´ s service"and objective to the advantage of Musk and his own AI business and is based on "far-fetched" legal claims.
At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 internal power struggle at the recently established start-up that led to Altman ending up being OpenAI ´ s CEO
. Emails revealed by OpenAI show Musk had also sought to be CEO and grew frustrated after 2 other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold excessive power as a significant shareholder and chief executive if the start-up succeeded in its goal to attain better-than-human AI called synthetic general intelligence, or AGI. Musk has actually long voiced issues about how advanced types of AI might threaten humankind.
Altman ultimately prospered in becoming CEO and has remained so except for a duration in 2023 when he was fired and after that reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced.
OpenAI has sought to demonstrate Musk ´ s early assistance for the concept of making OpenAI a for-profit organization so it might raise cash for the hardware and computer power that AI requires.
Musk is not the only one difficult OpenAI's for-profit shift. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has actually asked California's attorney general of the United States to block it, and the workplace of Delaware's attorney general has said it is reviewing the conversion.
It was not clear Tuesday when the case might go to trial. Musk's attorneys initially said they would be prepared by June after some back-and-forth with the 2 sides the judge indicated it most likely won't be until June 2026 at the earliest, however likely early 2027.
O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
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