• Quotes
  • Shortcuts
The Executive's Internet
Sun, Jan 18th
icon
GoogleAmazonWikipedia


spacerspacer

 

 TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Setup News Ticker
   TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Searching for 'Musk Elon'. (Return)

EngadgetJan 17, 2026
Elon Musk is looking for a $134 billion payout from OpenAI and Microsoft
We now have some idea of what's at stake in the longstanding feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI. As first reported by Bloomberg, the latest filing, as part of a lawsuit that accuses the AI giant of abandoning its non-profit status, claims that Musk is owed anywhere between $79 billion and $134 billion in damages from the "wrongful gains" of OpenAI and Microsoft.

Musk claimed in the filing that he's entitled to a portion of OpenAI's recent valuation at $500 billion, after contributing $38 million in "seed funding" during the AI company's startup years. Along with providing "roughly 60 percent of the nonprofit's seed funding," Musk offered recruiting of key employees, introductions with business contacts and startup advice, according to the filing. The monetary estimate comes from C. Paul Wazzan, a financial economist who's serving as Musk's expert in the case. According to Wazzan's calculations, OpenAI earned between $65.5 billion and $109.43 billion in wrongful gains, while Microsoft saw between $13.3 billion and $25.06 billion.

The lawsuit between Elon Musk and OpenAI dates back to March 2024, when the xAI CEO first filed a legal action claiming that OpenAI violated its non-profit status. Musk later added Microsoft as

  • CEOExpress
  • c/o CommunityScape | 200 Anderson Avenue
    Rochester, NY 14607
  • Contact
  • As an Amazon Associate
    CEOExpress earns from
    qualifying purchases.

©1999-2026 CEOExpress Company LLC