9 April 2026 Elon Musk has significantly stepped up his legal offensive against OpenAI and its key partner Microsoft. In a recent amendment to his ongoing lawsuit, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX is bluntly demanding the departure of CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman. Musk argues that the company has flagrantly betrayed its original non-profit mission in favour of commercial gain. As a result, he is seeking more than $150 billion (€141 billion) in damages. In the run-up to the long-awaited trial, which is due to start later this month in the city of Oakland, California, Elon Musk has considerably expanded his legal demands. Through the courts, the billionaire is calling for Sam Altman and Greg Brockman to be completely stripped of their leadership roles at OpenAI’s overarching non-profit arm. According to Musk’s advisers, removing directors of a charitable organisation is a perfectly legal and common measure when it becomes clear that they are failing to safeguard the organisation’s original public mission. At the heart of the dispute lies the accusation that OpenAI has entirely abandoned its promise to develop open-source artificial general intelligence for the benefit of humanity. Musk claims that he was persuaded under false pretences to provide $38 million (€36 million) in initial funding. That investment was, he says, intended for a non-profit structure, after which the company quietly morphed into a commercial, profit-driven model. As a result, the xAI founder feels deceived. He is now demanding more than $150 billion (€141 billion) in damages from both OpenAI and structural partner Microsoft. Remarkably, he is asking the competent court not to pay out any awarded sums to him personally. On the contrary, the money should go directly to the organisation’s charitable arm, with which he aims to demonstrate that he is not in any way driven by personal financial gain. The company in the crosshairs did not wait long to sharply condemn the new legal moves by the SpaceX boss. In an official statement on its own news platform, OpenAI asserts that the lawsuit has essentially always been intended to give Musk more power and money in the breakneck race around artificial intelligence. The company says the rival is attempting a last-minute change of course. OpenAI also believes that Musk is gradually realising that his attempt to damage the company rests on a completely unfounded legal case. As the trial date approaches, he is merely trying to save face. The company therefore characterises the ongoing lawsuits as pure harassment, driven entirely by ego and a desperate desire to hold back a successful competitor. Business AM