OpenAI hits back at Musk, says billionaire pushed for merger with Tesla

FILE PHOTO: Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - OpenAI on Tuesday hit back at Elon Musk's claims that the startup abandoned its original mission with emails that showed the billionaire supported its plan to create a for-profit entity and wanted a merger that would make Tesla its "cash cow."

Musk, one of the co-founders of OpenAI, filed a lawsuit last week, alleging the startup breached their founding agreement to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity, rather than for profit, by partnering with Microsoft.