Elon Musk is seeking between $79 billion and $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the artificial intelligence company defrauded him by abandoning its nonprofit mission, Bloomberg reported.
The damages estimate comes from expert witness C. Paul Wazzan, a financial economist who specializes in valuation and damages calculations in commercial litigation. Wazzan determined Musk is entitled to a portion of OpenAI’s reported $500 billion valuation based on Musk’s $38 million seed donation when he co-founded the organization in 2015.
Wazzan’s analysis also factors in Musk’s early technical and business contributions to OpenAI, estimating wrongful gains of $65.5 billion to $109.4 billion for OpenAI and $13.3 billion to $25.1 billion for Microsoft, which the report said owns a 27% stake in the company.
Musk’s legal team argues he should be compensated as an early startup investor who would typically see returns far exceeding the initial investment.
The report said the size of the damages demand comes as Musk’s personal wealth is estimated at about $700 billion. Reuters recently reported that Musk’s wealth exceeds that of Google co-founder Larry Page by about $500 billion, according to Forbes’ billionaires list.
The dispute is set to go to trial in April in Oakland, California, about 15 miles east of San Francisco. OpenAI has characterized the lawsuit as part of an “ongoing pattern of harassment,” and the company reportedly sent a letter Thursday to investors and business partners warning that Musk will make “deliberately outlandish, attention-grabbing claims” as the case moves forward.
