The conflict between OpenAI and its former co-founder Elon Musk continues to escalate. On Wednesday, lawyers for OpenAI and other defendants, including CEO Sam Altman, filed a countersuit demanding that Musk be prohibited from taking any “further unlawful and unfair action” and be held accountable for the damage he has already caused.
“OpenAI remains resilient,” the filing reads. “But Musk’s actions have taken a toll. If his campaign continues, it threatens greater harm — to OpenAI’s ability to govern in service of its mission, to the partnerships essential to that mission, and to the public interest. His latest fake takeover bid is just another attack on OpenAI’s future.”
Musk Responds: “Let the Market Decide”
Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, responded by saying that if OpenAI’s board had genuinely considered Musk’s offer to buy its nonprofit division, they would have recognized how serious it was. He added, “The fact that paying fair market value for OpenAI’s assets supposedly ‘interferes’ with their business plans is telling.”
Previously, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of abandoning its original nonprofit mission. He sought an injunction to block OpenAI’s transformation into a for-profit entity, but a federal judge denied the request in March and allowed the case to proceed to a jury trial in 2026.
The Mission Question: Is the Nonprofit Legacy at Risk?
OpenAI was originally founded in 2015 as a nonprofit. In 2019, it shifted to a capped-profit model, and is now in the process of becoming a public benefit corporation — a move that has sparked criticism from Musk and various advocacy groups.
Organizations like the California Teamsters recently urged the state’s Attorney General to block OpenAI’s conversion, accusing the company of “undermining its charitable mission.” Similar concerns were expressed in a legal brief filed in December by the nonprofit Encode.
OpenAI’s Stand: “We’re Not Abandoning the Mission”
OpenAI maintains that the restructuring will not eliminate its nonprofit efforts. According to the company, the new structure will provide more resources to support charitable initiatives in areas like healthcare, education, and science.
“We’re actually building the most capable nonprofit the world has ever seen — we’re not walking away from it,” OpenAI said in a series of posts. “Elon was never about the mission. He always had his own agenda.”
