From Inspiration to Litigation: Musk’s Strange Journey with OpenAI

Elon Musk’s journey with OpenAI has taken a strange and winding path, from inspiration to litigation. Once the inspirational co-founder who helped launch the AI lab, he is now its chief antagonist, filing a massive lawsuit against the very organization he helped create. This legal action is the final, bitter chapter in a long and complicated relationship.
In the beginning, Musk was a key figure, providing initial funding and helping to shape the mission of developing AI safely for humanity. OpenAI itself has acknowledged this, stating he was “someone who inspired us to aim higher.” However, this inspirational phase ended with his departure in 2018 after a failed power play.
His role then shifted to that of a critic, constantly warning that OpenAI was straying from its path by pursuing profit and corporate partnerships. This criticism has now morphed into active litigation. The lawsuit against OpenAI and Apple is the culmination of years of public warnings, a final attempt to halt the company’s trajectory through legal force.
OpenAI has publicly lamented this transformation. In a past statement, they noted the irony of being sued by the very person who inspired them, especially after he “told us we would fail” and then “started a competitor.” This journey from hero to villain (in OpenAI’s eyes) is a central drama of the modern tech world.