The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have lent partial support to Elon Musk in his ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI.
Musk, who is seeking to block the artificial intelligence startup’s shift to a for-profit model, accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of antitrust violations. In a court filing on Friday, the agencies raised concerns about overlapping board directors potentially harming market competition, despite the individuals involved having stepped down.
Central to Musk’s case is Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s co-founder, who served on the boards of both OpenAI and Microsoft between 2017 and 2023. Musk claims Hoffman’s dual roles created conflicts of interest. Additionally, Deannah Templeton, a Microsoft executive, served as a non-voting participant on OpenAI’s board from December 2023 to July 2024, further raising antitrust alarms. The FTC is already probing OpenAI as part of broader investigations into Microsoft’s AI investments and potential consumer deception.
While the DOJ and FTC stopped short of opposing OpenAI’s restructuring outright, their filing underscored the risk of anti-competitive practices stemming from improper board overlaps. The agencies stressed that defendants who voluntarily cease questionable behavior still bear the burden of proving such conduct won’t recur. Musk is leveraging these concerns to push for an injunction halting OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit model, calling the move “illegal.”
OpenAI, however, has dismissed Musk’s lawsuit as unfounded, arguing its restructuring aligns with its strategic goals and complies with antitrust laws. The company defended Hoffman and Templeton’s board roles, maintaining that they did not violate any regulations. OpenAI has refrained from commenting on the DOJ and FTC’s recent filing but has labeled Musk’s claims inconsistent with his prior support for the company’s operational structure.
This lawsuit represents the latest twist in Musk’s turbulent history with OpenAI. Having departed the company in 2018 and launched rival firm xAI in 2023, Musk filed his initial suit in February, withdrew it in June, and reintroduced it in August. With a hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Oakland, California, the case holds significant implications for AI regulation, corporate governance, and the future of the tech industry.