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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Elon Musk's attorneys dealt with off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the ask for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from transforming itself to a for-profit business.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a "stretch" for Musk to claim he will be irreparably damaged if she doesn't intervene to stop OpenAI from moving on with its transition from a not-for-profit lab to a for-profit corporation.

But the judge likewise raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with organization partner Microsoft and said she would not stop the case from moving to trial as quickly as next year so a jury can decide.

"It is possible that what Mr. Musk is saying is real. We ´ ll discover out. He ´ ll sit on the stand," she said.

Musk, an early OpenAI financier and board member, took legal action against the artificial intelligence business in 2015, initially in a California state court and later on in federal court, declaring it had actually betrayed its starting aims as a not-for-profit research study laboratory benefiting the public good. Musk had actually invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding till 2018, his attorney said Tuesday.

Musk intensified the legal conflict late in 2015, adding new claims and defendants and requesting for a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s prepares to transform itself into a for-profit service more completely. Musk also added his own AI company, xAI, as a plaintiff.

Also targeted by Musk's claim is OpenAI's close company partner Microsoft and tech business owner Reid Hoffman, a former OpenAI board member who also sits on Microsoft's board.

Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for approving the kind of preliminary injunction that Musk desires however hasn't yet ruled on the request. She did state she had "substantial issues" with two individuals linked to Microsoft on OpenAI's board - Hoffman and longtime Microsoft executive Deanna Templeton, who was a "non-voting observer."

"So you want me to think that she was sitting there listening to all the conversations and not telling any person? What would the point be for her to sit there and listen to everyone, if not to communicate what she was listening? There would be no point for her to be there, which is why she in fact ought to not exist," she said.

Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, has actually been on Microsoft ´ s board given that soon after the tech huge purchased the job networking site. He stepped down from OpenAI's board in 2023 to avoid conflicts with his AI startup, Inflection.

Templeton, who Musk likewise named as a defendant, was included as a non-voting member of OpenAI ´ s board in the after-effects of Altman ´ s ouster after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella looked for more stability on the board. But months later on, she was dropped from the OpenAI board as U.S. antitrust enforcers were revealing concerns about such arrangements on corporate boards.

The judge has managed a number of tech industry cases including Apple's battle with Epic Games, though she said Tuesday that Musk's case is "absolutely nothing like" that one. That case was likewise the last time she gave a preliminary injunction, king-wifi.win in 2020, 8 months before the case went to trial.

Then-President Barack Obama selected Gonzalez Rogers to the federal bench in 2011.

Tuesday's hearing was initially set for January however was held off after Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff said his house was ruined in the Pacific Palisades wildfire.

Musk, who did not attend the hearing, has actually declared in the claim that the companies are breaching the regards to his fundamental contributions to the charity. Judge Gonzalez Rogers called it a "stretch" to claim "irreversible damage" to Musk, and called the case "billionaires vs. billionaires." She questioned why Musk invested 10s of millions in OpenAI without a composed contract. Toberoff said it was due to the fact that the relationship between Altman and Musk at the time was "built on trust" and the two were very close.

"That is just a great deal of cash" to invest "on a handshake," the judge said.

OpenAI has actually said Musk ´ s asked for court order would "incapacitate OpenAI ´ s service"and mission to the benefit of Musk and his own AI business and wiki.eqoarevival.com is based on "improbable" legal claims.

At the heart of the disagreement is a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman ending up being OpenAI ´ s CEO

. Emails divulged by OpenAI reveal Musk had actually likewise sought to be CEO and grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold excessive power as a significant shareholder and president if the startup prospered in its objective to attain better-than-human AI referred to as synthetic basic intelligence, or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how innovative kinds of AI might threaten humankind.

Altman eventually prospered in becoming CEO and has remained so except for a period in 2023 when he was fired and after that restored days later on after the board that ousted him was replaced.

OpenAI has looked for to demonstrate Musk ´ s early support for the concept of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it might raise cash for the hardware and computer system power that AI requires.

Musk is not the only one challenging OpenAI's for-profit shift. Facebook and Instagram moms and dad Meta Platforms has asked California's lawyer general to block it, and the office of Delaware's chief law officer has said it is reviewing the conversion.

It was not clear Tuesday when the case may go to trial. Musk's legal representatives at first said they would be ready by June after some back-and-forth with the 2 sides the judge indicated it probably will not be until June 2026 at the earliest, however likely early 2027.

O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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