Elon Musk asks court to block OpenAI’s for-profit conversion

Investing.com– Elon Musk filed an injunction asking a federal court to stop OpenAI from converting into a for-profit business, while also raising antitrust concerns over the start-up, filings showed over the weekend. 

Attorneys representing Musk and his AI startup xAI filed a preliminary injunction aimed at blocking OpenAI’s conversion, and also preventing the start-up from allegedly blocking its investors from investing in its competitors. 

The injunction marks a potential escalation in Musk’s legal feud with OpenAI, after he filed multiple suits against the company over its alleged dropping of its non-profit mission. 

The Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO has also argued he was defrauded out of the $44 million he donated to OpenAI. Musk is one of the company’s co-founders, but left in 2018 on disagreements over its intentions. 

Recent reports suggested that OpenAI is seeking to convert part of its business into a for-profit model, enabling it to further reap the benefits of its wildly popular ChatGPT AI model.

OpenAI recently clinched a $1.5 billion investment from Japan’s Softbank (OTC:SFTBY) through a tender offer for shares held by OpenAI employees. But media reports suggested that OpenAI was also discouraging its investors from investing in its competitors.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the biggest investors in OpenAI, while other tech majors, including AI darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), had also participated in recent funding rounds.