In a new motion filed Friday evening as part of his lawsuit against OpenAI, Elon Musk’s lawyers requested a preliminary injunction to prevent OpenAI from transitioning to a for-profit company. reports TechCrunch. They also asked the judge to bar the company from continuing its alleged practices that they say violate U.S. antitrust laws.
Musk’s lawyers say that because of CEO Sam Altman’s alleged self-dealing, OpenAI “will likely lack sufficient funds to pay damages” if Musk wins the lawsuit. The motion follows reports that OpenAI intends to become a for-profit company and that it recently began the first discussions with regulators to advance its structural change.
As for the antitrust allegations, Musk’s lawyers say OpenAI and Microsoft “told investors not to fund each other’s competitors,” which they say violates the Sherman Act. And they claim that Musk “has verified that at least one major investor” who previously contributed to an xAI funding round has since “refused to invest in xAI.”
They also allege that OpenAI benefits from “wrongfully obtained competitively sensitive information” obtained through Microsoft connections, which they claim are effectively prohibited under the Clayton Act. The lawyers say “this is precisely why Microsoft got his seat on the board” — referring to Microsoft Vice President Dee Templeton. time as a non-voting board member at OpenAI – “was about coordinating business decisions with OpenAI”.
OpenAI spokesperson Hannah Wong said in a statement emailed to The edge:
Elon’s fourth attempt, which once again recycles the same baseless complaints, continues to be completely baseless.
Updated November 30: Added a statement from OpenAI spokesperson Hannah Wong.