OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Elon Musk's attorneys faced off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's demand larsaluarna.se for a court order that would obstruct the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit company.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a "stretch" for Musk to claim he will be irreparably hurt if she doesn't intervene to stop OpenAI from progressing with its transition from a not-for-profit research study laboratory to a for-profit corporation.
But the judge also raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with service partner Microsoft and said she would not stop the case from moving to trial as quickly as next year so a jury can decide.
"It is possible that what Mr. Musk is saying holds true. We ´ ll discover. He ´ ll rest on the stand," she said.
Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, took legal action against the expert system company last year, initially in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had actually betrayed its founding aims as a not-for-profit research study lab benefiting the public excellent. Musk had actually invested about $45 million in the startup from its starting until 2018, his legal representative said Tuesday.
Musk escalated the legal disagreement late last year, adding new claims and offenders and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s prepares to transform itself into a for-profit company more totally. Musk likewise added his own AI business, xAI, as a plaintiff.
Also targeted by Musk's claim is OpenAI's close business partner Microsoft and tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, a previous OpenAI board member who likewise rests on Microsoft's board.
Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for approving the kind of initial injunction that Musk wants however hasn't yet ruled on the request. She did say she had "substantial issues" with two people connected to Microsoft on OpenAI's board - Hoffman and long time Microsoft executive Deanna Templeton, who was a "non-voting observer."
"So you want me to think that she was sitting there listening to all the discussions and not telling any person? What would the point be for her to sit there and listen to everybody, if not to communicate what she was listening? There would be no point for her to be there, which is why she really must not exist," she said.
Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, has been on Microsoft ´ s board given that shortly after the tech giant purchased the job networking site. He stepped down from OpenAI's board in 2023 to prevent conflicts with his AI start-up, Inflection.
Templeton, who Musk also called as an accused, was included 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 revealing concerns about such arrangements on corporate boards.
The judge has actually dealt with a variety of tech industry cases including Apple's battle with Epic Games, though she said Tuesday that Musk's case is "absolutely nothing like" that a person. That case was also the last time she gave an initial injunction, in 2020, 8 months before the case went to trial.
Then-President Barack Obama designated Gonzalez Rogers to the federal bench in 2011.
Tuesday's hearing was initially set for January but was held off after Musk's lawyer Marc Toberoff said his home was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire.
Musk, disgaeawiki.info who did not attend the hearing, has actually alleged in the claim that the companies are violating the regards to his foundational contributions to the charity. Judge Gonzalez Rogers called it a "stretch" to claim "irreparable harm" to Musk, and called the case "billionaires vs. billionaires." She questioned why Musk invested 10s of millions in OpenAI without a composed agreement. Toberoff said it was because the relationship in between Altman and Musk at the time was "developed on trust" and the two were really close.
"That is simply a lot of cash" to invest "on a handshake," the judge said.
OpenAI has actually said Musk ´ s asked for court order would "debilitate OpenAI ´ s company"and mission to the advantage of Musk and his own AI business and is based upon "far-fetched" legal claims.
At the heart of the conflict is a 2017 internal power struggle at the new start-up that resulted in Altman becoming OpenAI ´ s CEO
. Emails disclosed by OpenAI show Musk had actually likewise sought to be CEO and grew annoyed after 2 other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold excessive power as a significant investor and chief executive if the startup prospered in its objective to attain better-than-human AI called artificial basic intelligence, or AGI. Musk has long voiced issues about how advanced kinds of AI might threaten humankind.
Altman ultimately prospered in ending up being CEO and has actually remained so except for a duration in 2023 when he was fired and then renewed days later after the board that ousted him was replaced.
OpenAI has actually sought to show Musk ´ s early support for the concept of making OpenAI a for-profit organization so it might raise cash for the hardware and computer system power that AI requires.
Musk is not the only one difficult OpenAI's for-profit transition. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has actually asked 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 may go to trial. Musk's lawyers initially said they would be ready by June after some back-and-forth with the 2 sides the judge indicated it probably won't be till June 2026 at the earliest, but likely early 2027.
O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
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