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OpenAI Seeks to Uphold Countersuit Against Musk in Profit Shift Trial

Elon Musk pictured with OpenAI logo during legal dispute regarding OpenAI's transition to for-profit operations.

The billionaire Elon Musk's move to have the claims of the ChatGPT maker dismissed is unfounded, according to OpenAI, which said it should be permitted to continue its countersuit against Musk.

What Exactly Happened?

According to the post on X, OpenAI stated in a court filing late on Wednesday that the expedited trial should not be postponed and that its countersuit, which charges Musk with engaging in deceptive business operations under California law, should be included.

A Musk-led consortium's $97.4 billion acquisition offer for the business earlier this year, according to OpenAI, was a "sham bid" meant to stoke media hysteria. Before the proposal made it to OpenAI's board, the company claimed the bid was leaked to the press.

Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, last year over the company's shift to a for-profit business model. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but departed before the company became a dominant force in AI. He charged that OpenAI has deviated from its original goal of creating AI for the benefit of people rather than business.

Why is it Crucial?

The Significance of It: Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 after co-founding the company in 2015, filed a lawsuit against it last year, alleging that it had abandoned its nonprofit goals by turning into a for-profit business.

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As stated by CEO Sam Altman earlier this month,

"OpenAI was founded as a non-profit, is today a non-profit that oversees and controls the for-profit, and going forward will remain a non-profit that oversees and controls the for-profit."

OpenAI also loosened its corporate control structure.

Major investors' disagreements over equity and state regulators' demands for independent appraisals have been obstacles to OpenAI's aim to create a $300 billion public-benefit corporation.

According to reports, an investment bank is being brought in by Delaware's attorney general to evaluate the nonprofit's ownership position in the new for-profit company.

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Rabia Majeed

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Rabia Majeed covers indices, ETFs, and portfolio construction for TECHi readers building allocations rather than picking single names. Her coverage spans S&P 500 internals, sector-rotation signals, factor premiums (quality, momentum, low-vol), and the cost-basis details — expense ratios, tracking error, tax efficiency — that compound over long holds. She writes about the fund-structure decisions most retail coverage skips.

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