Musk Claims $13.4B “Unjust Enrichment” from OpenAI and Microsoft

On January 18, a federal judge in California ruled against OpenAI and Microsoft’s motion to dismiss Elon Musk’s lawsuit, clearing the way for a jury trial in April, per U.S. News. Musk’s legal team recently formally sought $134 billion in “unjust enrichment” damages, with expert calculations pegging OpenAI’s alleged unjust enrichment at $655 billion to $1.094 trillion and Microsoft’s at $13 billion to $25.1 billion—totaling roughly $790 billion to $1.34 trillion. Financial economist C. Paul Wazzan has been retained as an expert witness to verify the staggering figures. When Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, he provided ~$38 million in seed funding, accounting for 60% of the early seed round. He also claims to have contributed his personal reputation, key connections, and experience scaling companies, asserting “without Musk, there would be no OpenAI.” OpenAI has since transitioned to a for-profit entity valued at around $500 billion, and Musk argues he is owed proportional compensation for alleged unjust enrichment. Previously, Musk has long accused OpenAI of straying from its original non-profit mission to benefit all humanity, instead deepening ties with Microsoft and becoming a for-profit firm controlled by the tech giant.