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Elon Musk's legal battle to stop OpenAI's shift to a for-profit structure will be fast-tracked to trial this fall, a judge has ruled.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied Musk's request for an immediate injunction to pause OpenAI's transformation from a nonprofit to a public benefit corporation, Bloomberg said.

However, Rogers emphasized that she intends to resolve the case quickly, citing the "public interest at stake" and potential harm if the transition were found to be unlawful.

The ruling is significant because OpenAI, which was co-founded by Musk in 2015, is in the midst of discussions with Delaware and California officials to secure approvals for its change in structure.

OpenAI, which developed the popular chatbot ChatGPT, aims to raise more capital to remain competitive in the high-cost AI market.

Musk's lawsuit claims that OpenAI abandoned its charitable mission when it accepted billions of dollars in investments from Microsoft starting in 2019, a year after Musk stepped down from the company's board.

Musk argues that the transition to a for-profit model goes against the company's original intent to develop AI for the benefit of humanity.

OpenAI Rejects Musk's $97.4 Billion Takeover Bid, Calling It a Competitive Move

According to USA Today, OpenAI has denied Musk's claims, stating that the lawsuit is rooted in competition. The company's CEO, Sam Altman, rejected Musk's $97.4 billion takeover offer, calling it an attempt to hinder OpenAI's progress.

"This has always been about competition," OpenAI said in a statement. "Elon's own emails show that he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla. That would have been great for his personal benefit, but not for our mission or US interests."

Musk's lawyer, Marc Toberoff, expressed satisfaction with the judge's decision to expedite the trial. "We're pleased the court has offered an expedited trial on the core claims driving this case," he said.

The core issue is whether OpenAI's restructuring is lawful, with Musk's legal team hoping to prove that Altman knowingly accepted Musk's charitable contributions under the understanding they were meant for the public good, not for personal enrichment.

The case has drawn attention because of the involvement of major tech companies. Microsoft's $13 billion investment in OpenAI has raised concerns with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which fears that Microsoft could extend its dominance from cloud computing into the AI space.

Meanwhile, SoftBank Group is in talks to lead a funding round for OpenAI that could value the company at $300 billion, overshadowing Musk's xAI, which has been valued at $75 billion.

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