OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Elon took on with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's 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 harmed 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 also raised issues about OpenAI and its relationship with company 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 find out. He ´ ll sit on the stand," she said.

Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, took legal action against the expert system business in 2015, systemcheck-wiki.de first in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had actually betrayed its founding aims as a not-for-profit research study lab benefiting the public good. Musk had invested about $45 million in the start-up from its starting till 2018, surgiteams.com his attorney said Tuesday.

Musk intensified the legal dispute late last year, adding brand-new claims and offenders and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s prepares to convert itself into a for-profit organization more fully. Musk likewise added his own AI business, xAI, as a plaintiff.

Also targeted by Musk's claim is OpenAI's close company partner Microsoft and tech entrepreneur 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 type of initial injunction that Musk wants but hasn't yet ruled on the demand. She did state she had "significant concerns" with 2 people 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 actually ought to not be there," she said.

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

Templeton, who Musk likewise named as an accused, was included 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 revealing concerns about such plans on corporate boards.

The judge has actually managed a number of tech market cases consisting of 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 a preliminary injunction, in 2020, eight 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 but was delayed after Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff said his home was ruined in the Pacific Palisades wildfire.

Musk, who did not attend the hearing, has actually alleged in the claim that the companies are breaking the regards to his foundational 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 tens of millions in OpenAI without a composed agreement. Toberoff said it was because the relationship between Altman and Musk at the time was "built on trust" and the 2 were really close.

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

OpenAI has actually said Musk ´ s requested court order would "disable OpenAI ´ s company"and mission to the benefit of Musk and his own AI business and is based upon "far-fetched" legal claims.

At the heart of the dispute 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 actually also looked for to be CEO and grew disappointed after 2 other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold excessive power as a significant shareholder and president if the startup succeeded in its objective to attain better-than-human AI called artificial general intelligence, or AGI. Musk has long voiced issues about how advanced kinds of AI could threaten humankind.

Altman eventually succeeded in ending up being CEO and has actually remained so other than for a period in 2023 when he was fired and then renewed days later after the board that ousted him was changed.

OpenAI has looked for to show Musk ´ s early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit organization so it might raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI needs.

Musk is not the only one tough OpenAI's for-profit transition. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has asked California's attorney general of the United States to obstruct it, and the office of Delaware's chief law officer has said it is reviewing the conversion.

It was unclear Tuesday when the case may go to trial. Musk's attorneys at first said they would be all set by June after some back-and-forth with the two sides the judge indicated it probably won't be till June 2026 at the earliest, but likely early 2027.

O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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