OAKLAND, asteroidsathome.net Calif. (AP) - Elon Musk's attorneys dealt with off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's ask for a court order that would obstruct the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit business.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a "stretch" for Musk to claim he will be irreparably damaged if she doesn't step in to stop OpenAI from moving on with its transition from a nonprofit lab to a for-profit corporation.
But the judge also raised issues about OpenAI and its relationship with company partner Microsoft and said she wouldn't stop the case from relocating to trial as soon as next year so a jury can decide.
"It is possible that what Mr. Musk is saying holds true. We ´ ll discover out. He ´ ll rest on the stand," she said.
Musk, an early OpenAI financier and board member, took legal action against the expert system business in 2015, iuridictum.pecina.cz initially in a California state court and later on in federal court, alleging it had actually betrayed its starting aims as a not-for-profit research laboratory benefiting the public excellent. Musk had actually invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding up until 2018, his attorney said Tuesday.
Musk intensified the legal dispute late last year, including brand-new claims and accuseds and requesting for a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s prepares to convert itself into a for-profit service more completely. Musk likewise added his own AI business, xAI, as a .
Also targeted by Musk's claim is OpenAI's close company partner Microsoft and tech business owner Reid Hoffman, a former OpenAI board member who also rests on Microsoft's board.
Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for authorizing the type of initial injunction that Musk desires however hasn't yet ruled on the request. She did state she had "significant concerns" with 2 people connected to Microsoft on OpenAI's board - Hoffman and longtime Microsoft executive Deanna Templeton, who was a "non-voting observer."
"So you want me to believe that she was sitting there listening to all the conversations and not informing anyone? What would the point be for her to sit there and listen to everybody, if not to interact what she was listening? There would be no point for her to be there, which is why she in fact needs to not be there," she said.
Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, has actually been on Microsoft ´ s board since soon after the tech huge bought the job networking site. He stepped down from OpenAI's board in 2023 to avoid disputes with his AI startup, Inflection.
Templeton, who Musk likewise named as an accused, was included as a non-voting member of OpenAI ´ s board in the aftermath of Altman ´ s ouster after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella looked for more stability on the board. But months later, she was dropped from the OpenAI board as U.S. antitrust enforcers were revealing concerns about such plans on business boards.
The judge has dealt with a number of tech industry cases including Apple's battle with Epic Games, though she said Tuesday that Musk's case is "nothing like" that a person. That case was also the last time she approved an initial injunction, in 2020, tandme.co.uk 8 months before the case went to trial.
Then-President Barack Obama designated Gonzalez Rogers to the federal bench in 2011.
Tuesday's hearing was originally set for January but was held off after Musk's lawyer Marc Toberoff said his house was ruined in the Pacific Palisades wildfire.
Musk, who did not attend the hearing, has actually alleged in the claim that the business are breaching the terms of his foundational contributions to the charity. Judge Gonzalez Rogers called it a "stretch" to claim "permanent harm" to Musk, and called the case "billionaires vs. billionaires." She questioned why Musk invested 10s of millions in OpenAI without a composed agreement. Toberoff said it was due to the fact that the relationship in between Altman and Musk at the time was "constructed on trust" and the two were very close.
"That is just a great deal of cash" to invest "on a handshake," the judge said.
OpenAI has actually said Musk ´ s requested court order would "cripple OpenAI ´ s company"and objective to the advantage of Musk and his own AI company and is based upon "far-fetched" legal claims.
At the heart of the disagreement is a 2017 internal power battle at the new startup that led to Altman ending up being OpenAI ´ s CEO
. Emails divulged by OpenAI reveal Musk had also sought to be CEO and grew frustrated after 2 other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold excessive power as a significant investor and president if the start-up succeeded in its goal to attain better-than-human AI called synthetic general intelligence, or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced types of AI might threaten mankind.
Altman ultimately succeeded in becoming CEO and has remained so other than for a duration in 2023 when he was fired and then restored days later after the board that ousted him was replaced.
OpenAI has actually sought to demonstrate Musk ´ s early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit company so it could raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI requires.
Musk is not the only one tough OpenAI's for-profit transition. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has asked California's attorney general to obstruct it, annunciogratis.net and the office of Delaware's chief law officer has said it is evaluating the conversion.
It was unclear Tuesday when the case might go to trial. Musk's legal representatives at first said they would be ready by June after some back-and-forth with the 2 sides the judge indicated it probably won't be up until June 2026 at the earliest, however likely early 2027.
O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
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