OpenAI has belated responded with legal action, after the AI pioneer was twice sued by Elon Musk last year.

OpenAI posted on X (formerly Twitter), that it is now counter suing Elon Musk, and alleged that “Elon’s nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit.”

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The filing alleged a pattern of harassment by Musk and asked a federal judge to stop Musk from any “further unlawful and unfair action” against OpenAI in a court case over the future structure of the firm.

Elon’s nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit. Today, we counter-sued to stop him.

— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) April 9, 2025

Counter-suing Elon

“Through press attacks, malicious campaigns broadcast to Musk’s more than 200 million followers on the social media platform he controls, a pretextual demand for corporate records, harassing legal claims, and a sham bid for OpenAI’s assets, Musk has tried every tool available to harm OpenAI,” the company wrote in a filing in Musk’s existing lawsuit against OpenAI.

OpenAI also asked the judge to stop Musk from any further attacks, as well as be “held responsible for the damage he has already caused.”

OpenAI also took to Elon Musk’s own platform to announce the counter lawsuit.

“Today, we countersued to stop him,” OpenAI added in a follow up tweet. “He’s been spreading false information about us. We’re actually getting ready to build the best equipped nonprofit the world has ever seen.”

“Elon’s never been about the mission,” OpenAI alleged. “He’s always had his own agenda. He tried to seize control of OpenAI and merge it with Tesla as a for-profit – his own emails prove it. When he didn’t get his way, he stormed off.”

“Elon is undoubtedly one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time. But these antics are just history on repeat – Elon being all about Elon,” it tweeted.

Musk tweeted in reply: “Scam Altman is at it again.”

Musk’s lawsuits

Musk was an early OpenAI investor but stepped away in 2018 and now runs his own AI firm (xAI), which recently purchased Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) for $33 billion.

Elon Musk had first sued OpenAI in March 2024 for breach of contract, alleging the firm was no longer following its original non-profit principles.

OpenAI then issued a very public and point-by-point rebuttal of Musk’s allegations, by directly comparing them to Musk’s own words within his own emails.

Musk abruptly withdrew his original lawsuit without explanation in June 2024, a day before a judge was due to rule on OpenAI’s request for it to be dismissed.

But in August 2024 Musk filed a “more forceful” lawsuit, alleging that that OpenAI and its co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman had gone against the company’s founding principles by prioritising commercial interests over the public good.

In September 2024 OpenAI confirmed it was restructuring itself into “for-profit benefit corporation” – a significant move away from its “non-profit” roots.

In December 2024 Elon Musk asked a federal court for an injunction to stop OpenAI from converting into a full for-profit business.

Buyout offer

A further twist was added in February 2025, when Elon Musk and a group of investors offered about $97.4 billion to buy the non-profit behind OpenAI.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman immediately publicly stated Musk’s offer was “ridiculous”, and “the company is not for sale”.

“Altman also noted that the ‘offer’ was “another one of his (Musk’s) tactics to mess with us,” and he had not paid any attention to it, as it “doesn’t matter.”

Elon Musk then claimed he would withdraw his $97.4 billion offer to buy the non-profit behind OpenAI, but only it drops its plan to convert into a for-profit operation.

In March a federal judge denied Elon Musk’s request for a court order blocking OpenAI from converting itself to a for-profit company, but said she could expedite a trial to consider Musk’s claims.

She offered to hold a trial later this year, but the trial has been pushed back to March 2026.

When Reuters approached Musk’s legal team for a comment to OpenAI counter lawsuit, his team referred to a $97.4 billion unsolicited takeover bid earlier this year from a Musk-led consortium, which OpenAI rejected.

“Had OpenAI’s Board genuinely considered the bid as they were obligated to do they would have seen how serious it was. It’s telling that having to pay fair market value for OpenAI’s assets allegedly ‘interferes’ with their business plans,” Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff said in a statement provided to Reuters.