‘For-profit business violates contract’ lawsuit
Emails sent by Musk 6 years ago revealed
“He is the one who tried to lead the Open AI commercial corporation.
“He even wants to take over as CEO, so he declines the offer.”
“The only way for Open AI to compete against Google is through a merger with Tesla.”
On February 1, 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent an email to some Open AI executives, including Open AI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, urging the merger of Tesla and Open AI. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was not included in the recipients at the time. Musk is an early investor who invested a total of $45 million (approximately KRW 60 billion) in OpenAI’s startup.
In the email, Musk attempted to persuade Open AI management by attaching an email from an acquaintance whose name was obscured: “Tesla should become Open AI’s cash cow.” The argument was that OpenAI needed to find alternative revenue sources because it was unlikely to build a successful generative AI platform solely by raising cash, and that a merger with Tesla was necessary.
SutskeverOpenAI released Musk’s email from six years ago on its blog on the 5th (local time). Recently, Musk filed a lawsuit claiming that Open AI’s commercial business violated the contract as a ‘non-profit corporation’ at the time of establishment and that “Open AI must disclose all of its technologies.” Then, Open AI launched a counter-exposure, saying that Musk was the one who tried to turn Open AI into a for-profit corporation in the first place, saying, “AI development costs an astronomical amount of money.”
In his complaint, Musk also claimed, “Open AI is closed source and has virtually turned into a subsidiary of Microsoft (MS), the world’s largest technology company.” However, OpenAI also refuted this, saying, “Musk not only tried to bring OpenAI into Tesla, own a majority stake, and control the board of directors, but also tried to take over as CEO of OpenAI.” He added that he rejected the offer because he thought it was more dangerous for a specific individual like Musk to control Open AI.
“We are saddened that someone we deeply admired and inspired us to aim higher went on to launch our competitor and then sue us,” OpenAI said. Some legal experts believe that Musk’s alleged breach of contract according to the email released by OpenAI may not be recognized in court, Reuters reported.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.