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 obstruct 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 hurt if she doesn't step in to stop OpenAI from moving on with its shift from a nonprofit research study laboratory 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 relocating to trial as soon as next year so a jury can choose.

"It is possible that what Mr. Musk is saying 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, initially in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had actually betrayed its founding aims as a not-for-profit research laboratory benefiting the public good. Musk had invested about $45 million in the start-up from its founding till 2018, his legal representative said Tuesday.

Musk intensified the legal disagreement late last year, including brand-new claims and defendants and requesting a court order that would stop OpenAI ´ s prepares to convert itself into a for-profit service more fully. Musk likewise added his own AI company, xAI, as a plaintiff.

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

Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for authorizing the kind of initial injunction that Musk desires but hasn't yet ruled on the request. She did say she had "considerable 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 desire me to believe that she was sitting there listening to all the discussions and not telling any person? What would the point be for her to sit there and listen to everyone, if not to interact what she was listening? There would be no point for her to be there, which is why she actually must not be there," she said.

Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, has actually been on Microsoft ´ s board given that quickly after the tech giant 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 also named as an offender, sitiosecuador.com was added as a non-voting member of OpenAI ´ s board in the consequences of Altman ´ s ouster after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sought 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 arrangements on business boards.

The judge has handled a variety of tech industry cases including Apple's battle with Epic Games, though she said Tuesday that Musk's case is "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 designated Gonzalez Rogers to the federal bench in 2011.

Tuesday's hearing was initially set for January however was postponed 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 declared in the claim that the business are breaching 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 composed agreement. Toberoff said it was because the relationship in between Altman and Musk at the time was "constructed on trust" and the two were very close.

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

OpenAI has actually said Musk ´ s asked for court order would "debilitate OpenAI ´ s company"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 struggle at the new start-up that led to Altman ending up being OpenAI ´ s CEO

. Emails divulged by OpenAI reveal Musk had likewise looked for to be CEO and grew disappointed after 2 other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold excessive power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the start-up succeeded in its goal to attain better-than-human AI referred to as intelligence, or akropolistravel.com AGI. Musk has actually long voiced concerns about how sophisticated kinds of AI could threaten humankind.

Altman eventually succeeded in becoming CEO and has actually remained so other than for a duration in 2023 when he was fired and then renewed days later after the board that ousted him was replaced.

OpenAI has looked for to show Musk ´ s early support for the concept of making OpenAI a for-profit service so it could raise cash for wavedream.wiki the hardware and computer system power that AI requires.

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

It was unclear Tuesday when the case may go to trial. Musk's legal representatives initially said they would be prepared by June after some back-and-forth with the two sides the judge showed it most likely will not be till June 2026 at the earliest, however likely early 2027.

O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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