‘Truth about Elon Musk’: OpenAI rejects Musk’s lawsuit, calls it an attempt to intimidate employees
The lawsuit, filed last week in San Francisco, accuses OpenAI of poaching staff and misappropriating intellectual property.
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OpenAI has asked a federal court to throw out a trade secrets lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, calling the case a baseless attempt to cover up the company’s own shortcomings.
In a filing submitted on Thursday, OpenAI’s lawyers said: “Unable to match OpenAI’s innovation, xAI has filed this groundless trade secret lawsuit. To be clear: OpenAI does not need or want anyone’s — much less xAI’s — trade secrets to achieve OpenAI’s mission.”
Open AI tweeted their views on X, thereby linking their legal details within it.
Today we responded to Elon’s latest harassment tactic dressed up as a lawsuit. OpenAI doesn’t need or want anyone’s trade secrets. We will protect our employees and won’t be intimidated by his attempts to bully them. https://t.co/N4E0reaRF3
— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) October 2, 2025
The lawsuit, filed last week in San Francisco, accuses OpenAI of poaching staff and misappropriating intellectual property. xAI claims Sam Altman’s firm hired at least eight of its employees in a bid to gain access to proprietary information.
OpenAI rejects those claims, arguing the case is designed to intimidate former xAI staff who chose to move elsewhere in the AI sector. “This case is clearly designed to generate publicity to bully and threaten those employees… and to try to chill further flight from xAI,” its lawyers said.
The legal battle adds to the increasingly bitter rift between Musk and Altman, who co-founded OpenAI together nearly a decade ago.
