Sam Altman and Elon Musk agree on this ‘major issue’ with ChatGPT-maker Open AI CEO saying: In a way, Elon was right when ...

OpenAI, led by Sam Altman and Elon Musk have agreed to an expedited December trial date in the legal battle over the ChatGPT-maker’s shift to a for-profit model, according to a filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Citing the filing, news agency Reuters reported that both parties have opted to delay a decision on whether the case will be heard by a jury or decided solely by a judge.
This development follows a recent ruling in which the court denied Musk's request to halt OpenAI's for-profit transition but granted his motion for an accelerated trial timeline.

OpenAI welcomed the court's March 4 decision in which it rejected Musk’s request to pause the Microsoft-backed AI company’s transition to a for-profit model. “We welcome the opportunity to make it clear in court that we fully intend to (1) keep the non-profit as a crucial part of our work to achieve our mission, and (2) make sure it’s not just supported by a successful business, but in a stronger position than ever,” the company said.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015 but departed before the company's rise to prominence, initiated the lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman last year.
His complaint alleges that the organisation abandoned its founding mission of developing AI for humanity's benefit rather than corporate profit – which OpenAI has denied. Musk subsequently established his own competing AI venture, xAI, in 2023.
“In a way, Elon was right when he said in 2017 that we needed to evolve OpenAI’s structure. He was also right when he formed his own AI company, xAI, as a public-benefit corporation. But he’s wrong when it comes to this baseless, cynically self-serving lawsuit, the false allegations propping it up, and other petty tactics like the so-called ‘bid’. The court has rightly seen through this latest attempt, and we’re confident it will continue to do so,” OpenAI added.
The ChatGPT-maker also noted that it has had for-profit subsidiaries for years.
“As Elon is finding out, facts matter - especially in court. And the most important fact is one that he keeps twisting: The non-profit isn’t going anywhere. Despite what Elon claims, there is no non-profit “conversion” in the cards,” the company added.

OpenAI said that the lawsuit against it has been about what’s good for Musk and his own for-profit AI company.
“The truth is, he wanted to merge a for-profit OpenAI into Tesla - as his own emails⁠ show. We turned him down and he left because he couldn’t seize control. When he later saw the progress we’d made without him, Elon began resorting to baseless lawsuits while still trying to copy our playbook to develop competing models with his own for-profit, multi-billion-dollar company,” OpenAI noted.
This agreement on trial timing comes shortly after Altman, who has stated that OpenAI is not for sale, declined an $97.4 billion takeover offer from a consortium led by Musk.