Elon Musk has withdrawn his lawsuit against OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015. According to court filings from the Superior Court of California, Musk called off the legal action on June 11th, just a day before an informal conference was scheduled to discuss the discovery process.
Musk had initially filed the lawsuit in March 2024, accusing OpenAI of breach of contract, unfair business practices, and breach of fiduciary duty. He claimed that his contributions to the company were based on promises that OpenAI would irrevocably dedicate its resources to building AI for public benefit, with safety as the primary concern.
The lawsuit sought remedies for breach of contract, promissory estoppel, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair business practices, and accounting, as well as specific performance, restitution, and damages.
However, Musk’s filing to withdraw the case did not provide an explanation for the decision. OpenAI had previously dismissed Musk’s claims as “incoherent,” stating that the documents Musk provided contradicted his allegations about the agreement’s terms.
The withdrawal of the lawsuit coincides with Musk’s opposition to Apple’s plans to integrate ChatGPT into its operating systems. During Apple’s keynote event announcing Apple Intelligence for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, Musk threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies, calling the integration “an unacceptable security violation.”
Despite assurances from Apple and OpenAI that user data would be shared only with explicit consent and interactions would be secure, Musk questioned Apple’s ability to ensure data security, claiming that Apple has no control over data once it is handed over to OpenAI.
Since filing the lawsuit against OpenAI, Musk has also founded his own AI company, xAI, and secured over $6 billion in funding to advance the Grok chatbot on his social network, X.
While the reasons for Musk dropping the OpenAI lawsuit remain unclear, his actions suggest a potential shift in focus towards his own AI endeavors while continuing to criticize OpenAI through social media rather than legal channels.
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