Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and left the company in 2018, has voiced apprehension about ChatGPT-maker’s transition to a for-profit entity. This reported shift may end up awarding OpenAI CEO Sam Altman a 7% stake in the company.
On Wednesday, several media publications reported that OpenAI plans to shift its business model.
The reports were also shared online by social media users.
Musk also shared one such report saying, “This is deeply wrong.”
This is deeply wrong https://t.co/RmoBX73ABC
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2024
A spokesperson for OpenAI responded to some media reports saying that “non-profit is core to our mission and will continue to exist.”
Musk’s stance on OpenAI’s for-profit shift is not new. He has multiple times questioned the legality and legitimacy of this alleged transition.
In August this year, he said, “Either turning a non-profit into a for-profit is legal and everyone should be doing it or it’s illegal and OpenAI is a house of cards.”
The tech billionaire has also filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT-parent, accusing the company of prioritizing commercial gains over its original mission of helping humanity. OpenAI has previously refuted Musk’s allegations about a “founding agreement.”
In a court filing, the company said, “The Founding Agreement is instead a fiction Musk has conjured to lay unearned claim to the fruits of an enterprise he initially supported, then abandoned, then watched succeed without him.”