In a dramatic escalation of his long-running disagreement with the makers of ChatGPT, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is demanding up to $134 billion from artificial intelligence research lab OpenAI and software giant Microsoft in a U.S. federal lawsuit. Mr Musk claims the companies received wrongful financial gains from his early role in building OpenAI and is now seeking justice through the courts.
This legal battle represents one of the most high-profile disputes in the fast-moving world of AI. At its heart are questions about contribution, value, and what rights founders retain when an organisation they helped launch dramatically expands into one of the world’s most valuable technology ventures.
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Musk’s Arguments and the ‘Wrongful Gains’ Claim
According to court filings lodged in Oakland, California, Musk is arguing that both OpenAI and Microsoft benefited enormously from his early support and investment in OpenAI when it was launched in 2015. He claims that his contributions helped lay the foundation for what has grown into a multi-hundred-billion-dollar AI powerhouse.
Musk’s lawyers assert that the alleged gains reaped by OpenAI range from $65.5 billion to $109.4 billion, while Microsoft’s gains sit between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion. In total, the amounts under dispute could reach about $134 billion.
Central to the claim is a report prepared by an expert witness, financial economist C. Paul Wazzan. The expert’s calculation does not merely count Musk’s money, but also the broader value he says he helped create through recruitment, networking, credibility and early staffing support when OpenAI was a fledgling project.
Musk’s legal team frames the argument in familiar startup terms. Just like a seed investor might expect returns far above their initial outlay if a company soars, they argue Musk should benefit because the gains enjoyed by OpenAI and Microsoft far outstrip his initial $38 million contribution.
The lawsuit also leaves open the possibility of punitive damages and other legal remedies if a jury finds in Musk’s favour.
The Origins of the Dispute
Elon Musk was one of the co-founders of OpenAI when it started with a mission to create safe artificial general intelligence for the benefit of humanity. At the time, the organisation was structured as a nonprofit research entity free from the pressures of commercial finance.
Since then, OpenAI has undergone a major evolution. It has attracted massive investment, especially from Microsoft which has backed the lab with billions of dollars and integrated OpenAI’s AI models into its cloud services and products. Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018 but remained observant of its changes.
The core of Musk’s argument is that OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit orientation and its partnership with Microsoft violated the spirit of the original nonprofit mission he helped build. He contends that this shift allowed both OpenAI and Microsoft to capture enormous financial value from innovations that stemmed in part from the early framework he supported.
Responses from OpenAI and Microsoft
OpenAI and Microsoft have swiftly rejected Musk’s claims, calling the lawsuit baseless and part of a campaign to exert pressure rather than obtain real legal justice. OpenAI has characterised the case as a form of harassment, saying it will vigorously defend itself in court.
Microsoft’s legal filings have taken aim specifically at the methodology used by Musk’s expert witness, arguing that his calculations are unreliable, unverifiable and unprecedented. The tech giant asked the judge to limit how that analysis is presented at trial to prevent jurors from being misled.
Both companies maintain that Musk’s figures vastly overstate their gains. They stress that his initial support was just one part of a complex build-out that involved many individuals and external investments over the past decade.
What Happens Next
The case is scheduled to go before a jury in April 2026. A judge in California has already ruled that the trial should proceed, meaning jurors will soon hear detailed arguments from both sides.
Legal experts watching the proceedings have noted that the case raises novel questions. It touches on founder rights, financial attribution, and the evolving nature of corporate missions in the fast-changing tech sector. It also reflects broader tensions in the AI industry between research ideals and commercial imperatives.
Elon Musk now leads xAI, an AI company of his own, which competes with OpenAI’s products. That competitive backdrop adds an extra layer of complexity, even as lawyers for both sides insist the courtroom process will focus solely on legal merits — not market rivalry.
For now, investors, technologists and legal observers in Nigeria and around the world will be watching closely. The outcome of this lawsuit could influence how future founders protect their stakes and shape the narratives around ethically grounded innovations in the AI era.
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