Elon Musk vs OpenAI and Microsoft battle heats up as billionaire demands up to $134 billion in damages

Elon Musk is seeking $79 billion to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft to pay damages for claims that the ChatGPT maker defraded him by abadoning its non-profit roots and partnering with the Redmond-Washington based company, as per a report by Bloomberg.

Reportedly, Musk's lawyers in a court filing on Friday detailed the damages just a day after federal judge rejected the final effort by OpenAI and Microsoft to avoid a jury trial set for late April.

The filing details calculations made by financial economist expert witness C. Paul Wazzan. it states that Musk is entitled to a portio of OpenAI's current $500 billion valuation because of being defrauded by the company for $38, the amount he donated to the company when he co-founded the company in 2015.

Musk's lawyser Steven Molo in the filing said, “Just as an early investor in a startup company may realize gains many orders of magnitude greater than the investor’s initial investment, the wrongful gains that OpenAI and Microsoft have earned – and which Mr. Musk is now entitled to disgorge – are much larger than Mr. Musk’s initial contributions,”

The billionaire had left OpenAI's board in 2018 and became a critical voice against the company after it launched ChatGPT in late 2022. Musk also went out to found his own AI startup, xAI which is the maker of Grok chatbot.

OpenAI while reacting to Musk's claims in a statement said, “Mr Musk’s lawsuit continues to be baseless and a part of his ongoing pattern of harassment, and we look forward to demonstrating this at trial…This latest unserious demand is aimed solely at furthering this harassment campaign.”

The company also warned investors to expect Musk to make more attention grabbing claim as the legal fight unfolds.