1 Judge Says Elon Musk's Claims of Harm from OpenAI Are A 'stretch'.
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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Elon Musk's legal representatives dealt with off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's request for a court order that would obstruct the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit business.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a "stretch" for Musk to claim he will be irreparably hurt if she doesn't step in to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its transition from a not-for-profit lab to a for-profit corporation.

But the judge likewise raised issues about OpenAI and its relationship with service partner Microsoft and said she wouldn't stop the case from moving to trial as quickly as next year so a jury can choose.

"It is plausible that what Mr. Musk is saying holds true. We ´ ll discover. He ´ ll sit on the stand," she said.

Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, photorum.eclat-mauve.fr took legal action against the expert system business last year, initially in a California state court and later on in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a not-for-profit research lab benefiting the public good. Musk had actually invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Musk escalated the legal disagreement late in 2015, including brand-new claims and defendants and requesting for a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s plans to transform itself into a for-profit organization more completely. Musk also included his own AI business, xAI, gratisafhalen.be as a plaintiff.

Also targeted by Musk's claim is OpenAI's close service partner Microsoft and tech business owner Reid Hoffman, a former OpenAI board member who also sits on Microsoft's board.

Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for approving the kind of initial injunction that Musk desires however hasn't yet ruled on the demand. She did state she had "significant concerns" with two people linked to Microsoft on OpenAI's board - Hoffman and long time Microsoft executive Deanna Templeton, who was a "non-voting observer."

"So you desire me to believe that she was sitting there listening to all the conversations and not telling anyone? What would the point be for her to sit there and listen to everybody, if not to communicate what she was listening? There would be no point for her to be there, which is why she in fact must not be there," she said.

Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, has been on Microsoft ´ s board because soon after the tech giant bought the task networking website. He stepped down from OpenAI's board in 2023 to prevent conflicts with his AI start-up, Inflection.

Templeton, who Musk likewise called as an accused, was included as a non-voting member of OpenAI ´ s board in the aftermath of Altman ´ s ouster after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella looked for more stability on the board. But months later, she was dropped from the OpenAI board as U.S. antitrust enforcers were expressing concerns about such plans on corporate boards.

The judge has handled a variety of tech market cases consisting of Apple's battle with Epic Games, though she said Tuesday that Musk's case is "absolutely nothing like" that a person. That case was also the last time she granted a preliminary injunction, akropolistravel.com in 2020, 8 months before the case went to trial.

Then-President Barack Obama designated Gonzalez Rogers to the federal bench in 2011.

Tuesday's hearing was initially set for January but was held off after Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff said his house was ruined in the Pacific Palisades wildfire.

Musk, who did not attend the hearing, has alleged in the claim that the business are breaching the terms of his fundamental contributions to the charity. Judge Gonzalez Rogers called it a "stretch" to claim "irreparable damage" to Musk, and wiki.insidertoday.org called the case "billionaires vs. billionaires." She questioned why Musk invested 10s of millions in OpenAI without a written contract. Toberoff said it was since the relationship in between Altman and Musk at the time was "built on trust" and the two were very close.

"That is just a great deal of money" to invest "on a handshake," the judge said.

OpenAI has said Musk ´ s requested court order would "cripple OpenAI ´ s business"and objective to the benefit of Musk and his own AI company and is based upon "far-fetched" legal claims.

At the heart of the conflict is a 2017 internal power battle at the new startup that resulted in Altman becoming OpenAI ´ s CEO

. Emails revealed by OpenAI show Musk had actually likewise sought to be CEO and grew disappointed after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a significant investor and primary executive if the start-up succeeded in its goal to attain better-than-human AI known as artificial basic intelligence, or AGI. Musk has actually long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten mankind.

Altman eventually prospered in becoming CEO and has actually remained so other than for a duration in 2023 when he was fired and then renewed days later after the board that ousted him was changed.

OpenAI has sought to show Musk ´ s early support for the concept of making OpenAI a for-profit company so it could raise money for the hardware and computer system power that AI needs.

Musk is not the only one difficult OpenAI's for-profit shift. Facebook and Instagram moms and dad Meta Platforms has asked California's chief law officer to it, and the office of Delaware's attorney general has said it is examining the conversion.

It was not clear Tuesday when the case might go to trial. Musk's attorneys initially said they would be prepared by June after some back-and-forth with the 2 sides the judge suggested it probably will not be till June 2026 at the earliest, humanlove.stream but likely early 2027.

O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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