Elon Musk is demanding an astonishing $79 billion to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the artificial intelligence company deceived him by abandoning its foundational nonprofit objective, as initially reported by Bloomberg first reported. This substantial sum is derived from the assessment of expert witness C. Paul Wazzan, a financial economist renowned for his extensive experience, having been deposed nearly 100 times and provided trial testimony over a dozen times in complex commercial litigation.
Wazzan, whose expertise lies in valuing assets and quantifying damages in significant disputes, determined that Musk merits a considerable share of OpenAI’s current valuation of $500 billion, given his initial $38 million seed contribution when he co-founded the venture in 2015. (For context, this would represent an extraordinary 3,500-fold return on Musk’s original investment.)
Wazzan’s comprehensive examination integrates Musk’s foundational financial injections with the technical expertise and business contributions he provided to OpenAI’s nascent team, calculating illicit gains ranging from $65.5 billion to $109.4 billion for OpenAI and an additional $13.3 billion to $25.1 billion for Microsoft, which currently holds a 27% stake in the company.
Musk’s legal representatives contend that he should be compensated akin to an early-stage startup investor, who often realizes returns “many orders of magnitude greater” than their initial capital outlay. However, the sheer magnitude of the requested damages suggests that this legal confrontation extends beyond mere financial motives.
Musk’s personal wealth is presently estimated at approximately $700 billion, firmly establishing him as the world’s wealthiest individual. As Reuters recently highlighted, his fortune now surpasses that of Google co-founder Larry Page, the world’s second-richest person, by an astounding $500 billion, according to Forbes’ list of billionaires. Furthermore, in November, Tesla shareholders independently sanctioned a $1 trillion compensation package for Musk, marking it as the largest corporate executive remuneration in history.
Considering this backdrop, even a $134 billion settlement from OpenAI would constitute a relatively minor increase to Musk’s already immense fortune. This likely reinforces, for those within OpenAI, their characterization of the lawsuit as part of an “ongoing pattern of harassment” rather than a legitimate financial grievance. OpenAI had already reportedly issued a letter on Thursday to investors and other business partners, cautioning that Musk is expected to make “deliberately outlandish, attention-grabbing claims” as his legal action against the company proceeds to trial in April. The proceedings are scheduled to take place in Oakland, California, approximately 15 miles east of San Francisco.