OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Elon Musk's lawyers dealt with off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's demand for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting 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 forward with its transition from a nonprofit lab to a for-profit corporation.

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

"It is plausible that what Mr. Musk is stating holds true. We ´ ll learn. He ´ ll rest on the stand," she said.

Musk, an early OpenAI financier and board member, took legal action against the expert system business last year, setiathome.berkeley.edu first in a California state court and later on in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its starting aims as a not-for-profit research study laboratory benefiting the public excellent. Musk had actually invested about $45 million in the start-up from its starting till 2018, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Musk escalated the legal conflict late in 2015, adding brand-new claims and defendants and requesting a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s prepares to itself into a for-profit organization more completely. Musk also included his own AI business, asteroidsathome.net xAI, as a plaintiff.

Also targeted by Musk's claim is OpenAI's close business partner Microsoft and tech business owner Reid Hoffman, a previous OpenAI board member who likewise rests on Microsoft's board.

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

"So you desire me to believe that she was sitting there listening to all the discussions and not informing anyone? 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 actually must not exist," she said.

Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, has been on Microsoft ´ s board since shortly after the tech huge bought the task networking site. He stepped down from OpenAI's board in 2023 to avoid disputes with his AI start-up, Inflection.

Templeton, imoodle.win who Musk also called as a defendant, was added as a non-voting member of OpenAI ´ s board in the consequences 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 expressing concerns about such arrangements on business boards.

The judge has managed a variety of tech market 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 granted an initial injunction, 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 originally set for January however was postponed after Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff said his house was ruined in the Pacific Palisades wildfire.

Musk, who did not go to the hearing, has alleged in the claim that the business are breaching the regards to his fundamental contributions to the charity. Judge Gonzalez Rogers called it a "stretch" to claim "irreparable harm" 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 in between Altman and king-wifi.win Musk at the time was "built on trust" and photorum.eclat-mauve.fr the 2 were very close.

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

OpenAI has said Musk ´ s asked for court order would "cripple OpenAI ´ s service"and mission to the benefit of Musk and his own AI company and is based upon "improbable" legal claims.

At the heart of the conflict is a 2017 internal power battle at the recently established start-up that caused Altman becoming OpenAI ´ s CEO

. Emails revealed by OpenAI show Musk had also sought to be CEO and grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold excessive power as a major investor and classifieds.ocala-news.com chief executive if the startup was successful in its goal to attain better-than-human AI referred to as synthetic basic intelligence, or AGI. Musk has long voiced issues about how advanced types of AI could threaten humanity.

Altman ultimately was successful in ending up being CEO and has actually remained so except for a duration in 2023 when he was fired and larsaluarna.se then renewed days later on after the board that ousted him was changed.

OpenAI has actually sought to demonstrate Musk ´ s early assistance for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it could raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI needs.

Musk is not the only one difficult OpenAI's for-profit shift. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has actually asked California's lawyer general to block it, and the office of Delaware's attorney general of the United States has said it is examining the conversion.

It was not clear Tuesday when the case may go to trial. Musk's lawyers at first said they would be prepared by June after some back-and-forth with the two sides the judge suggested it probably won't be up until June 2026 at the earliest, however likely early 2027.

O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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