The legal feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI just entered its "receipts" era. In a blistering response to Musk’s ongoing lawsuits, OpenAI has pulled back the curtain on internal 2017 communications, revealing a narrative that stands in stark contrast to the "betrayed non-profit" story Musk has been telling.
The message from OpenAI is clear: Elon didn't object to the for-profit pivot; he just wanted to own it.
The 2017 Consensus: Billions or Bust
According to the filings, by 2017, the original trio—Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever—reached a hard truth: a pure non-profit model would never attract the billions of dollars required to achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
- The Agreement: All parties, including Musk, allegedly agreed that a commercial structure was the only way to compete with giants like Google.
- The Mars Incentive: The documents suggest Musk’s vision for a for-profit OpenAI wasn't just about AI —it was about space. He reportedly wanted control of the entity to help fund his multi-planetary ambitions for Mars.
The Power Struggle and the Tesla "Merger"
The relationship soured when Musk demanded a majority stake and full operational control.
When the other founders balked at making OpenAI his personal kingdom, Musk proposed a different solution: merging OpenAI with Tesla.
The founders rejected the merger, sensing that OpenAI’s mission would be swallowed by the automaker's specific needs. OpenAI also highlighted a bit of "resource sharing" that had already begun:
- The Talent Pipeline: In early 2017, Musk reportedly utilized OpenAI’s top minds—including Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman—to help solve Tesla’s Autopilot challenges.
- The Karpathy Shift: This collaboration eventually led to one of OpenAI's brightest stars, Andrej Karpathy, leaving to become the Director of AI at Tesla.
The "Zero Percent" Prediction
In February 2018, Musk officially walked away. His parting words weren't exactly supportive. He reportedly told the team that OpenAI’s chances of beating Google were 0% and announced he would build his own AGI competitor within Tesla.
The Irony: OpenAI points out that the very structure Musk is now suing them over is almost identical to the for-profit, multi-billion dollar framework he himself championed and tried to control years ago.
The Bottom Line: Competitive Spite?
OpenAI isn't mincing words regarding Musk’s motivation. They link his current lawsuits and public "free speech" critiques to a simple case of competitive jealousy. By attacking OpenAI’s structure, he clears the runway for his own AI startup, xAI.
In the end, this isn't just a battle over ethics; it’s a battle over who gets to hold the keys to the future. And as the documents show, Musk wasn't mad that the keys were being forged—he was just mad they weren't handed to him.
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