OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Elon Musk's lawyers faced off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's request 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 hb9lc.org Musk to claim he will be irreparably hurt if she does not step in to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its shift from a not-for-profit lab to a for-profit corporation.

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

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

Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, took legal action against the expert system company in 2015, first in a California state court and later on in federal court, alleging it had actually betrayed its starting aims as a not-for-profit research study lab benefiting the general public great. Musk had invested about $45 million in the startup from its starting until 2018, his legal representative said Tuesday.

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

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

Rogers said she has a high bar for authorizing the type of initial injunction that Musk desires but hasn't yet ruled on the request. She did state she had "considerable concerns" with 2 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 conversations and not telling any person? What would the point be for her to sit there and listen to everybody, if not to interact what she was listening? There would be no point for her to be there, which is why she in fact must not exist," she said.

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

Templeton, who Musk likewise named as an offender, 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 plans on corporate boards.

The judge has dealt with a variety of tech market cases including Apple's battle with Epic Games, though she said Tuesday that Musk's case is "nothing like" that a person. That case was likewise the last time she approved an initial injunction, in 2020, 8 months before the case went to trial.

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

Tuesday's hearing was initially set for January but was delayed after Musk's lawyer Marc Toberoff said his home was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire.

Musk, who did not go to the hearing, has actually declared in the claim that the business are breaching the terms of his foundational contributions to the charity. Judge Gonzalez Rogers called it a "stretch" to claim "permanent harm" to Musk, and called the case "billionaires vs. billionaires." She questioned why Musk invested tens of millions in OpenAI without a written agreement. Toberoff said it was since the relationship in between Altman and Musk at the time was "constructed on trust" and the two were extremely close.

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

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

At the heart of the conflict is a 2017 internal power struggle at the new start-up that resulted in Altman becoming OpenAI ´ s CEO

. Emails revealed by OpenAI show Musk had likewise looked for to be CEO and grew annoyed after 2 other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold excessive power as a major investor and president if the start-up was successful in its goal to attain better-than-human AI called synthetic basic intelligence, or AGI. Musk has long voiced issues about how sophisticated forms of AI could threaten humankind.

Altman ultimately was successful in becoming CEO and has actually remained so except for a duration in 2023 when he was fired and after that reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced.

OpenAI has actually sought to show Musk ´ s early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it might raise cash for the hardware and computer system power that AI needs.

Musk is not the only one challenging OpenAI's for-profit transition. Facebook and Instagram moms and dad Meta Platforms has actually asked California's chief law officer to block it, and the workplace of Delaware's attorney general of the United States 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 two sides the judge indicated it probably won't be until June 2026 at the earliest, but likely early 2027.

O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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