OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of Elon Musk's xAI Trade Secret Lawsuit

OpenAI vs Elon Musk: Company Alleges Lawsuit is a 'Harassment Tactic'

OpenAI said it does not need anyone's trade secrets to achieve its goals More than a month after Elon Musk's xAI filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for anticompetitive behaviour and stealing the company's trade secrets, the San Francisco-based AI firm has finally responded to the allegations publicly. On Thursday, the company published its documents that it presented to the court, answering the allegations as well as seeking a motion to dismiss the case. The AI giant also called Musk's move his "latest harassment tactic dressed up as a lawsuit," and alleged that the billionaire is bullying OpenAI employees.

ETtech explainer: Inside the OpenAI-Elon Musk drama - The Economic Times

Elon Musk, founder of AI startup xAI, is in a public and legal battle with Sam Altman, head of OpenAI. Once collaborators, their feud now threatens OpenAI's progress amid the growing AI race. ET takes a look at how this rivalry began and has unfolded over time.Elon Musk, who runs his own artificial intelligence (AI) startup called xAI, is currently involved in a public and legal battle with Sam Altman, the head of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, a company Musk helped create. What started as a collaboration to build safe and open AI has turned into a fierce personal and legal conflict. The feud has grown over time and is now threatening to slow OpenAI's progress, just as the global race to dominate the artificial intelligence arena gathers pace. Where did it all begin, and how has it played out? ET takes a look. The OpenAI vs Elon Musk timeline December, 2015: OpenAI is founded by Musk, Altman, and nine others as a non-profit AI research lab focused on transparency and open access. Musk contributes the initial funding of $45 million to get it started. The group says its aim is to develop digital intelligence for the benefit of all humanity, without being driven by financial gain. The company was created partly in response to Google's growing power in AI. February, 2018: Musk leaves OpenAI after disagreements over its future direction. According to OpenAI, Musk proposed to either become the CEO or merge the company with Tesla. When these suggestions were not accepted, he chose to step away. March, 2019: OpenAI restructures into a "capped-profit" entity known as OpenAI LP. This new model allows the company to raise funds more aggressively while limiting investor returns. The shift marks a clear departure from the original non-profit structure that Musk had supported. July, 2023: Musk launches xAI, a separate AI company. The new venture brings together engineers who had previously worked at companies such as Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. xAI aims to challenge leading players in the field, including OpenAI. February, 2024: Musk files a lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman, accusing them of moving away from the organisation's original mission. He claims the company is working to maximise profits for Microsoft, one of its major backers. Musk files the lawsuit in his capacity as a donor to OpenAI's non-profit parent. June, 2024: Musk unexpectedly withdraws the lawsuit without offering any explanation. August, 2024: Musk refiles the lawsuit, again accusing OpenAI of abandoning its founding purpose. He also seeks to block the company's shift toward a for-profit model. However, Altman argues that the change is necessary for OpenAI's continued development and success. February, 2025: Musk leads a consortium of investors offering $97.4 billion to acquire control of OpenAI's non-profit parent organisation. His aim is to bring OpenAI back in line with its original non-profit mission and regain influence over its future direction. The OpenAI board unanimously rejects the offer. Altman mocks the proposal on social media and news channels, and Musk responds with insults, escalating the feud. April, 2025: OpenAI files a countersuit against Musk, citing a pattern of harassment. The company asks a federal judge to block Musk from continuing what it calls "unlawful and unfair action" against OpenAI. A jury trial for the case is expected to take place in spring 2026. September, 2025: xAI files a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco, accusing OpenAI of a "deeply troubling pattern" of hiring away former xAI employees to gain access to confidential information related to Grok, xAI's AI chatbot. xAI claims Grok is more advanced than ChatGPT and that OpenAI is trying to gain an unfair advantage. October, 2025: OpenAI asks the court to dismiss xAI's lawsuit. It denies all allegations and describes the case as part of Musk's ongoing efforts to harass the company. "Under Musk's leadership, talented xAI employees are leaving in droves, and some are coming to OpenAI to help advance OpenAI's mission," the filing said. "Those employees have every right to go where they choose, and OpenAI has the right to hire them." The legal fight between Musk and OpenAI continues, with each side accusing the other of bad faith. OpenAI says Musk is trying to disrupt its progress and divert attention from xAI's struggles, while Musk seems determined to challenge the company through legal action and public criticism. While the conflict is playing out in public, the court trials expected in 2026 could shape the future of both companies.

OpenAI asks court to dismiss trade-secret lawsuit from Elon Musk's xAI

OpenAI has asked a judge to throw out xAI's lawsuit, calling it part of Elon Musk's ongoing attacks. xAI accused OpenAI of poaching staff to steal secrets about its chatbot Grok. OpenAI denied the claims, saying employees are free to move and xAI is losing talent due to its own issues. OpenAI asked a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit alleging it lured employees away from Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI to steal its trade secrets, calling the case part of Musk's "ongoing harassment" of the company. OpenAI denied xAI's allegations and said its claims were false and unsubstantiated. "Under Musk's leadership, talented xAI employees are leaving in droves, and some are coming to OpenAI to help advance OpenAI's mission," the filing said. "Those employees have every right to go where they choose, and OpenAI has the right to hire them." Spokespeople and an attorney for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filings. A spokesperson for OpenAI declined to comment. xAI's lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in San Francisco, alleged that OpenAI engaged in a "deeply troubling pattern" of hiring away former xAI employees to gain access to trade secrets related to its AI chatbot Grok, which it said was more advanced than OpenAI's ChatGPT. The lawsuit is part of a broader legal battle between Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, amid a high-stakes race in Silicon Valley for talent and to gain market share in the burgeoning AI industry. xAI has separately sued Apple for allegedly conspiring with OpenAI to suppress rival platforms. Apple and OpenAI denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss that case on Tuesday. Musk is also suing OpenAI over its conversion to a for-profit company, while OpenAI has countersued Musk for harassment. OpenAI on Thursday called xAI's trade-secret lawsuit an attempt to intimidate OpenAI and "distract from the failures of [Musk's] own competitive AI effort." "The truth is that xAI is hemorrhaging talent to other competitors, including OpenAI," OpenAI said.

OpenAI asks court to dismiss Musk and xAI's trade secret lawsuit By Investing.com

Investing.com-- OpenAI on Thursday asked a federal judge to dismiss a recent lawsuit from Elon Musk's xAI that alleged the company lured employees away from the artificial intelligence startup to steal trade secrets. OpenAI in a filing to the district court for the northern district of California, San Francisco Division, called Musk's lawsuit "baseless," and that the suit was "the latest chapter of Elon Musk's ongoing harassment of OpenAI in an effort to distract from the failures of his own competitive AI effort." OpenAI claimed that xAI was "hemorrhaging talent" to other competitors, and that the company's employees had a right to change jobs "without harassment." xAI had last week filed a lawsuit alleging that OpenAI had engaged in a pattern of hiring former xAI employees to gain trade secrets, especially those on its AI chatbot Grok. The lawsuit is the latest development in a bitter legal battle between Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk has largely objected to OpenAI's attempts to pivot into a for-profit business, and had earlier sued over his objections. xAI had separately sued Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) for allegedly engaging in antitrust behaviour with OpenAI- allegations which Apple and OpenAI denied earlier this week. OpenAI has also countersued Musk over alleged harassment. xAI representatives did not immediately respond to a mailed request for comment.

OpenAI asks court to dismiss trade-secret lawsuit from Musk's xAI

(Reuters) -OpenAI asked a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit alleging it lured employees away from Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI to steal its trade secrets, calling the case part of Musk's "ongoing harassment" of the company. OpenAI denied xAI's allegations and said its claims were false and unsubstantiated. "Under Musk's leadership, talented xAI employees are leaving in droves, and some are coming to OpenAI to help advance OpenAI's mission," the filing said. "Those employees have every right to go where they choose, and OpenAI has the right to hire them." Spokespeople and an attorney for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filings. A spokesperson for OpenAI declined to comment. xAI's lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in San Francisco, alleged that OpenAI engaged in a "deeply troubling pattern" of hiring away former xAI employees to gain access to trade secrets related to its AI chatbot Grok, which it said was more advanced than OpenAI's ChatGPT. The lawsuit is part of a broader legal battle between Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, amid a high-stakes race in Silicon Valley for talent and to gain market share in the burgeoning AI industry. xAI has separately sued Apple for allegedly conspiring with OpenAI to suppress rival platforms. Apple and OpenAI denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss that case on Tuesday. Musk is also suing OpenAI over its conversion to a for-profit company, while OpenAI has countersued Musk for harassment. OpenAI on Thursday called xAI's trade-secret lawsuit an attempt to intimidate OpenAI and "distract from the failures of [Musk's] own competitive AI effort." "The truth is that xAI is hemorrhaging talent to other competitors, including OpenAI," OpenAI said. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

OpenAI accuses Elon Musk of using lawsuit to harass and distract from xAI woes

OpenAI also argued that the lawsuit is an attempt to intimidate the company and shift attention away from xAI's struggles. Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup, xAI, recently filed a lawsuit against rival company OpenAI in California federal court. The case accused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets to gain an unfair advantage in the competitive AI industry. xAI claimed that OpenAI targeted former employees who had access to critical company information, including details about xAI's AI chatbot, Grok. Now, OpenAI has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it part of Musk's "ongoing harassment" of the company, according to Reuters. "Under Musk's leadership, talented xAI employees are leaving in droves, and some are coming to OpenAI to help advance OpenAI's mission," the filing said. "Those employees have every right to go where they choose, and OpenAI has the right to hire them." Also read: Instagram head says Meta is not secretly listening to your conversations via microphones OpenAI also argued that the lawsuit is an attempt to intimidate the company and shift attention away from xAI's struggles. "The truth is that xAI is hemorrhaging talent to other competitors, including OpenAI," OpenAI said. The dispute is part of a broader legal battle between Musk and OpenAI. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI alongside CEO Sam Altman, has filed other lawsuits against the company, including a challenge over OpenAI's conversion to a for-profit model. OpenAI, in turn, has countersued Musk for harassment. Also read: OpenAI's Sora app is already flooded with disturbing Sam Altman deepfakes xAI has also separately sued Apple, alleging that the tech giant conspired with OpenAI to limit competition. Both Apple and OpenAI denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss the case. As OpenAI defends itself against xAI's trade secret allegations, the showdown highlights the high stakes and intense rivalries emerging in Silicon Valley's fast-growing AI market.