OpenAI has asked regulators in California and Delaware to investigate what it describes as “anti-competitive behavior” by Elon Musk and his associates, intensifying a high-stakes legal conflict between the two sides.
The request comes ahead of a trial scheduled to begin this month, stemming from a lawsuit filed by Musk in 2024. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who left the organization in 2018, alleges that the company violated its original non-profit mission as it transitioned toward a for-profit structure.
In response, OpenAI sent letters to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, urging them to review Musk’s actions. The company argues that the lawsuit, which seeks damages exceeding $100 billion, could severely damage its nonprofit foundation.
OpenAI claims the legal challenge threatens its broader mission of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity. The company also suggested that regulators may not have fully examined its restructuring plans.
Musk has since founded rival AI venture xAI, which develops competing technologies such as the Grok chatbot, positioning him in direct competition with OpenAI and its flagship product, ChatGPT.
The dispute highlights growing tensions within the AI industry, where competition, governance structures and long-term control over advanced technologies are becoming increasingly contested.
