OpenAI has issued a public rebuttal to the lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against the company by releasing a series of emails showing the tech billionaire's support for the firm's plan to raise more money.
OpenAI asserted in a blog post on Tuesday that it will "move to dismiss all of Elon's claims." Contrary to Musk's claims, OpenAI said it remains committed to its original mission as a nonprofit focused on developing AI for the betterment of humanity.
OpenAI Hits Back at Elon Musk's Lawsuit
In its blog post, OpenAI showed several emails from Elon Musk to refute his claims by revealing his apparent hypocrisy. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman and Greg Brockman in 2015, stepped down from its board in 2018, citing the potential for future conflicts of interest with Tesla's AI-focused endeavors.
However, Musk eventually said disagreements with the OpenAI team prompted his departure. Criticism from Musk towards OpenAI continues to persist, particularly concerning the company's multibillion-dollar deal with tech giant Microsoft.
Last year, Musk asserted that OpenAI had shifted its focus towards maximizing profits, a departure from his intention. OpenAI, now valued at over $80 billion, was created as a nonprofit focused on developing AI that would "benefit humanity as a whole."
In Tuesday's blog post, OpenAI said that when Altman and Brockman started the company in late 2015, they initially planned to raise $100 million.
However, according to OpenAI, Musk said in an email, "We need to go with a much bigger number than $100M to avoid sounding hopeless relative to what Google or Facebook are spending. I think we should say that we are starting with a $1B funding commitment... I will cover whatever anyone else doesn't provide."
In another old email, Musk also said: "My probability assessment of OpenAI being relevant to DeepMind/Google without a dramatic change in execution and resources is 0%. Not 1%. I wish it were otherwise. Even raising several hundred million won't be enough. This needs billions per year immediately or forget it."
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Lawsuit of Elon Musk Against OpenAI
OpenAI also claimed that at one time, when discussing a for-profit structure to further its mission, Elon Musk wanted "full control" of the company by merging it with Tesla.
The company said its other co-founders could not agree to terms on a for-profit partnership with the Tesla CEO because they felt it was against the mission for any person to have absolute control over OpenAI.
OpenAI further noted that the SpaceX founder agreed that the organization should begin being "less open" in building AI over time and not share the firm's "science" with the public.
In his 35-page complaint filed last week, Musk alleged that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission and partnered with Microsoft to commercialize its work. According to the billionaire, this constitutes a breach of a contract.
However, Axios, citing an internal memo from OpenAI's chief strategy officer, Jason Kwon, reported that the company was not a "de facto subsidiary of Microsoft."
"We're sad that it's come to this with someone whom we've deeply admired-someone who inspired us to aim higher, then told us we would fail, started a competitor, and then sued us when we started making meaningful progress towards OpenAI's mission without him," OpenAI said in its blog post.
"We are focused on advancing our mission and have a long way to go. As we continue to make our tools better and better, we are excited to deploy these systems so they empower every individual," it added.
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