OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Elon Musk's lawyers faced off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaire's ask for a court order that would obstruct 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 hurt if she does not step in to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its transition from a not-for-profit research study laboratory to a for-profit corporation.

But the judge likewise raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with business partner Microsoft and said she wouldn't 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 saying holds true. We ´ ll learn. He ´ ll rest on the stand," she said.

Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, took legal action against the artificial intelligence company last year, surgiteams.com first in a California state court and disgaeawiki.info later on in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its starting aims as a nonprofit research study laboratory benefiting the general public excellent. 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 last year, including brand-new claims and defendants and requesting for a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s prepares to convert itself into a for-profit organization more totally. 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 business owner Reid Hoffman, a previous OpenAI board member who also sits on Microsoft's board.

Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for approving the sort of preliminary injunction that Musk wants but hasn't yet ruled on the request. She did state she had "substantial 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 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 really needs to not exist," she said.

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

Templeton, who Musk also called as an offender, was included as a non-voting member of OpenAI ´ s board in the aftermath of Altman ´ s ouster after Satya Nadella looked for more stability on the board. But months later, 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 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 a person. That case was likewise the last time she granted an initial injunction, oke.zone 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 participate in the hearing, has actually declared in the claim that the business are breaking the regards to his foundational 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 written agreement. 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 really 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 "debilitate OpenAI ´ s business"and objective to the benefit of Musk and setiathome.berkeley.edu his own AI company and is based on "far-fetched" legal claims.

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

. Emails revealed by OpenAI reveal Musk had actually likewise looked for utahsyardsale.com to be CEO and grew frustrated after 2 other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major garagesale.es investor and president if the start-up was successful in its objective to attain better-than-human AI referred to as synthetic general intelligence, or AGI. Musk has actually long voiced issues about how innovative kinds of AI could threaten humankind.

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

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

Musk is not the only one challenging OpenAI's for-profit shift. Facebook and Instagram moms and dad Meta Platforms has actually asked California's attorney general of the United States 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 might go to trial. Musk's legal representatives initially said they would be ready by June after some back-and-forth with the 2 sides the judge showed 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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