Elon Musk to keep lawsuit against OpenAI: Why Sam Altman's non-profit control U-turn fails to cheer Tesla chief

Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk is planning to proceed with his lawsuit against OpenAI, his lawyer Marc Toberoff said on Monday.

The development comes hours after the AI startup, co-founded by Musk, dialled back its earlier plan to remove control by its non-profit arm.

According to the ChatGPT maker’s new proposed plan, its non-profit parent would continue to control the for-profit business and become a major shareholder in it.

"Nothing in today’s announcement changes the fact that OpenAI will still be developing closed-source AI for the benefit of Altman (CEO Sam Altman), his investors, and Microsoft," Toberoff said in a statement.

"The announcement obscures critical details about the supposed 'non-profit control' arrangement, and particularly the sharply reduced ownership stake the non-profit will receive in Altman’s for-profit enterprise," he added.

The Tesla CEO has been fighting in court to block OpenAI's transition from its non-profit control.

Other big companies such as Meta Platforms and prominent figures, including Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton known as the godfather of AI, have joined critics urging regulators to block OpenAI's restructuring.

A court trial in the case has been scheduled for March 2026.

"Elon continuing with his baseless lawsuit only proves that it was always a bad-faith attempt to slow us down," a spokesperson for OpenAI said in a statement.

OpenAI’s restructuring plan

OpenAI has dialed back a significant restructuring plan, with its non-profit parent retaining control in a move that is likely to limit CEO Sam Altman's power over the AI startup.

The announcement follows a storm of criticism and legal challenges, including a high-profile lawsuit filed by Elon Musk, who has accused OpenAI of straying from its founding mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

"OpenAI was founded as a non-profit, is today a non-profit that oversees and controls the for-profit, and going forward will remain a non-profit that oversees and controls the for-profit. That will not change," Altman said in a blog post on Monday.