Elon Musk delights in being the focal point of the cosmos, so if generative AI is going to be as revolutionary as Silicon Valley anticipates, he cannot afford to be defeated. Especially not by an organization he assisted in establishing. Consequently, Musk persists in tossing more ideas out there in his quest to decelerate OpenAI, the firm he co-founded in 2015 and which he now contends with through his competing startup xAI.

As per a report in the Financial Times, Musk’s lawyers have reached out to attorneys-general in both Delaware and California, demanding that a significant share in OpenAI be auctioned off openly. Given Musk’s strained dealings with the courts in Delaware, he seems keen on relocating matters to California, where OpenAI’s headquarters are situated.

The intricacies are numerous, but fundamentally, OpenAI has been moving towards evolving from a non-profit to a for-profit structure. In this new arrangement, a non-profit branch would persist within OpenAI, retaining a stake in the for-profit entity and continuing to engage in charitable ventures in fields such as healthcare and education. Having contributed early funding when OpenAI was founded as a non-profit, Musk appears to be advocating for the non-profit division to sell at least a portion of its stake to the highest bidder and use the funds for charitable objectives. This would, naturally, also grant him a chance to re-engage with and exert influence over OpenAI.

This latest move is one of several efforts by Musk to hinder OpenAI from fully converting to a for-profit. Through multiple legal actions, Musk has presented several points to try and weaken OpenAI, including claims that he was misled into investing in the organization under the belief it would always maintain its non-profit status with the goal of developing AI safely and freely accessible to everyone. For quite some time, he has mockingly referred to the organization as “ClosedAI” to allege that it has kept its technology exclusively to itself.

One more argument he has presented in court against OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit model is that doing so enabled it to expand into the powerhouse it is today without paying taxes for several years, thereby providing it an unfair edge over for-profit startups like his own.

Musk departed from OpenAI’s board in 2018 due to differing views on its strategy, and seemingly out of retaliation, launched xAI in 2023. It’s not difficult to comprehend how OpenAI’s rapid ascent with the release of ChatGPT might have embittered him. The clearest analogy might be akin to seeing the nerdy girl you turned down in high school fully blossom years later.

Musk might not be the most relatable figure, particularly since his company competes directly with OpenAI. But neither is OpenAI entirely defensible. Following the influx of tens of billions from backers like Microsoft and others, the launch of commercial offerings with subscription rates, and retaining most of its technology rather than opting for open source, few genuinely believe OpenAI is upholding the core purpose of the non-profit framework. Meta, a company that indeed open-sources its models, alongside other groups including a non-profit concentrating on AI safety, have joined Musk’s legal actions.

Should OpenAI be compelled to maintain its non-profit status as Musk wishes, the organization would struggle to secure the additional funds necessary to endure in the AI competition (most backers seek a definitive path to optimal returns). Musk’s xAI has been diligently making strides to close the gap, sourcing billions used to develop an extensive supercomputer grid for model training, and owning X, previously known as Twitter, he has been able to interconnect xAI’s chatbot considerably with the social media platform.

Musk is poised to be one of the key influencers in the upcoming Trump administration, where he could likely create hurdles for OpenAI through inquiries or by simply curtailing its legislative sway. Additionally, OpenAI is confronting other challenges. Notably, Microsoft, its principal supporter, has been distancing itself while developing its own AI technologies; OpenAI finds itself involved in legal confrontations with media outlets including the New York Times over claims it has engaged in massive copyright violations through its model training; and CEO Sam Altman faced legal action this week from his own sister over accusations of childhood sexual abuse.