In the ever-spinning carousel of Elon Musk’s legal entanglements, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has decided to put one lawsuit on pause, presumably to focus on his myriad other business ventures or perhaps just to enjoy a few quiet minutes not being deposed. Musk has asked the court to dismiss his lawsuit against OpenAI and its co-founders, citing the apparent need for a brief intermission while he marshals additional evidence for what is expected to be a future dramatic courtroom return.
Musk initially sued OpenAI back in February, claiming the artificial intelligence company had abandoned its noble nonprofit roots faster than a Silicon Valley startup pivoting during a down round. The lawsuit accused OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman of turning what was supposed to be a benevolent research endeavor into a for-profit clout magnet with a Microsoft logo on the side.
At the heart of Musk’s complaint was his contention that OpenAI’s cozy relationship with Microsoft created a financial incentive pipeline that ran counter to the startup’s original mission to ensure AI would benefit humanity rather than simply cash-rich tech giants. In other words, Musk was less than thrilled with the idea of superintelligence being trained in a server farm somewhere in Redmond.
OpenAI responded with smooth corporate denial, saying Musk was merely regretting not being part of the current success, rather like someone who sold Bitcoin in 2013 and now insists it’s all a Ponzi scheme. The company very politely asked the court to toss the case, claiming Musk’s lawsuit was riddled with contradictions and selective memory.
This week, rather than forcing the judge to untangle that knot, Musk’s legal team opted to file for voluntary dismissal without prejudice. That curious legal turn of phrase means the lawsuit could be refiled at a later date, depending on whether Musk finds more legal kindling or simply changes his mind, an activity in which he has professional-grade experience.
“We’re pleased Elon Musk has dropped his lawsuit,” OpenAI said in a statement that was short on gloating but heavy with passive-aggressive relief.
The case was scheduled to go to court in 2025, but it seems we will now have to wait to see if Musk decides to reenter the ring or stick to his current hobbies of launching rockets and provoking social media outrage with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker running Twitter on Chernobyl power settings.
For now, the legal popcorn gets put back in the cupboard, but keep it warm just in case Act Two includes robots, revenge and a billionaire with a grudge.