As the trial date nears for a showdown between Elon Musk and OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company has sent a letter to the attorneys general in California and Delaware accusing Musk of “anti-competitive behavior.”
The letter, seen by both CNBC and The Sacramento Bee, alleges that Musk has been attempting to undermine OpenAI through a series of “attacks” on the company. OpenAI also accuses Musk of “coordinating his efforts” with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, saying the two billionaires are “turning to conduct and approaches that we do think are really highly questionable and sharply worthy of investigation.”
“It appears that Mr. Musk has reached new lows, as it has been just reported today that he is directing the circulation of false and wholly unfounded allegations in the press in a last-ditch effort to discredit OpenAI and its leadership,” wrote OpenAI strategy chief Jason Kwon in the letter.
Neither X nor Meta replied to requests for comment on the allegations.
Kwon asked authorities to investigate any “anti-competitive” and “improper” behavior by Musk and his associates, pointing to a story that ran Monday in The New Yorker. The report said Musk had hired investigators to conduct extensive surveillance on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, including tracking his flights, the parties he attended, and conducting interviews with a purported sex worker.
The story included several lurid claims, though The New Yorker said it could find no evidence to support any of them. Altman stringently denied the rumors, calling the gossip “disgusting behavior from a competitor that I assume is part of an attempt at tainting the jury in our upcoming cases.”
The history between Musk and Altman is complicated. The two co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit but had a falling out that led to Musk leaving in 2018 and eventually starting his own AI company. In 2024, Musk sued OpenAI, saying he was “assiduously manipulated” and “deceived” after the company explored becoming a for-profit entity. Jury selection for that trial is scheduled to begin on April 27.
