OpenAI legal turbulence

OpenAI is fighting on two legal fronts at once: Elon Musk’s lawsuit is nearing trial, and Florida has opened a state probe into the company. (bloomberg.com) (cbsnews.com) In a filing reported April 11, OpenAI said Musk changed what he wants from the case just weeks before trial and called it a “legal ambush.” The company said the shift would require different evidence and witnesses than the parties had prepared. (bloomberg.com) (business-standard.com) Musk’s revised requests include sending any money he wins back to OpenAI, unwinding OpenAI’s planned conversion, and putting future financings and transactions under court oversight. Earlier in the week, CNBC reported that Musk was also seeking to remove Chief Executive Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman from their officer roles. (bloomberg.com) (cnbc.com) The case is headed to a jury trial scheduled to begin April 27, 2026. Musk sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2024, arguing that OpenAI abandoned its founding nonprofit mission as it built a for-profit business tied to Microsoft. (firstpost.com) (bloomberg.com) OpenAI has answered with its own pressure campaign. On April 6, the company asked the attorneys general of California and Delaware to investigate what it called Musk’s “improper and anti-competitive behavior” aimed at blocking OpenAI’s restructuring. (cnbc.com) (bloomberg.com) A separate fight opened in Florida on April 9, when Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT over suspected harms to minors and broader public-safety risks. He said subpoenas are forthcoming. (cbsnews.com) (politico.com) Florida officials tied the probe to concerns about children using generative artificial intelligence systems, national-security risks, and reports that the accused Florida State University shooter had used ChatGPT before the 2025 attack. News Service of Florida said the inquiry also follows litigation over chatbot harms to minors. (nbcmiami.com) (usatoday.com) OpenAI said in a statement that it builds safety protections into its models and that young people are already using artificial intelligence tools, making “thoughtful, evidence-based regulation” important. The company said it looks forward to working with Attorney General Uthmeier’s office. (cbsnews.com) (yahoo.com) The next test comes fast: a late-April courtroom fight with Musk, while Florida prepares subpoenas over how OpenAI’s tools affect minors. (firstpost.com) (politico.com)