Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Elon Musk vs. OpenAI & Microsoft: Antitrust Battle and AI Power Struggles Unveiled

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Elon Musk vs. OpenAI & Microsoft: Antitrust Battle and AI Power Struggles Unveiled · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
• 0:04
  Podcast. This is a show where we discuss
• 0:07
  the critical crossroads that shape SpaceX, Tesla X, The
• 0:11
  Boring Company, and Neurolink. I'm your host, Will Walden.
• 0:15
  So what exactly is Elon Musk accusing Microsoft and Open AI
• 0:19
  of doing to the AI market? And how does his concerns tie
• 0:25
  into the origins of Open AI and its business?
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  Also, there's internal disputes going on, and they're being
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  revealed through a trove of early emails.
• 0:35
  Now, in a move from Musk and his new legal claims, they broaden
• 0:40
  his ongoing lawsuit against open AI but also named Microsoft,
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  marking a dramatic escalation in his efforts to challenge the
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  dominance of these two tech giants in the burgeoning AI
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  sector. Now, Musk's expanded lawsuit
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  filed in Oakland, CA builds on his original complaint from
• 0:58
  August and now includes allegations that Microsoft and
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  Open AI conspired to monopolize the market for generative AI
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  technologies. The amended legal filing accuses
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  the companies of engaging in anti competitive practices
• 1:12
  designed to shut out potential rivals and secure their dominant
• 1:16
  position in the AI space. This lawsuit aims to nullify the
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  licensing agreement between Open AI and Microsoft, demanding the
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  forfeiture of profits Musk claims were obtained through
• 1:27
  illicit means. The lawsuit comes after Musk
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  public criticisms of Open AIA company he Co founded in 2015
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  but later distance himself from as its focus shifted.
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  Now originally founded as a nonprofit aiming at ensuring AI
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  benefits to the public, Open AI is transformation into a profit
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  driven entity with heavy investment for Microsoft is a
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  central issue in Musk's legal arguments.
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  Never before has a corporation gone from tax exempt charity to
• 1:58
  $157 billion for profit market, paralyzing Gorgon and in just
• 2:04
  eight years, the lawsuit claims. This stark language underscores
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  Musk's disapproval of opening eyes direction in his tight
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  financial ties with Microsoft. Now, Microsoft has opted not to
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  comment on the ongoing legal case, but Open AI issued a brief
• 2:18
  statement dismissing the new claims as even more baseless and
• 2:21
  overreaching than the previous ones.
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  Meanwhile, Musk's lawyer framed the lawsuit as an attempt to
• 2:27
  shed light on allegedly unethical business practices.
• 2:31
  They said Microsoft's anti competitive practices have
• 2:34
  escalated, adding that sunlight is the best disinfectant now.
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  Elon Musk's relationship with Open AI has been fraught with
• 2:42
  tension, stemming from his departure in the company's pivot
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  towards a profit driven model. Emails unearthed in the legal
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  proceedings reveal internal discord not only about the
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  direction of Open AI, but also regarding Musk's role.
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  These in exchanges show that Musk initially envisioned a
• 2:58
  leading role for himself, despite his public statement
• 3:01
  suggesting he disliked the responsibilities of being ACEO.
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  Now, in one e-mail, Open AI is former chief scientist expressed
• 3:10
  concerns about Musk's intentions, arguing that Musk's
• 3:13
  desire for control could create risks.
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  They said the current structure provides you with a path where
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  you end up with unilateral absolute control over the AGI.
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  He highlighted Musk's inconsistent statements about
• 3:28
  wanting to lead the company, despite his apparent reluctance
• 3:31
  to take on ACEO role. They feared that Musk might
• 3:34
  prioritize control over the broader mission of preventing
• 3:37
  the misuse of advanced AI. Now, their concerns about the
• 3:41
  potential for an AGI dictatorship weren't solely
• 3:45
  directed at Musk. He also pointed to the risk of
• 3:47
  Google's DeepMind achieving a dominant position in AGI
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  development, citing Demis Hassabis, Deepmind's Co founder,
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  as a key figure in what Musk described as One Mind to Rule
• 4:00
  the World philosophy. This rivalry between DeepMind
• 4:03
  was a motivating factor behind the founding of Open AI, as Musk
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  and his collaborators sought to create a counterbalance to
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  Google's growing influence in AI research.
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  Now, internal communications revealed that Musk's vision for
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  Open AI extended beyond nonprofit aspirations.
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  As early as 2017, he and other Co founders, including Andre
• 4:23
  Carpathy, considered integrating open AIS resources with Tesla's,
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  potentially using Tesla as a cash cow to fund AI research.
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  Kaparthy or Carpathy, noted that the transportation sector's vast
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  revenue potential could help scale open AIS projects now.
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  The idea of merging the two companies never materialized,
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  though, in part because of the practical difficulties of
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  leveraging Tesla's resources in this way.
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  Now, by 2018, the friction between Musk and Open AIS
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  leadership had become more pronounced.
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  Emails indicate that Musk was growing increasingly
• 4:59
  disillusioned with the company's trajectory, particularly as it
• 5:03
  moved away from its nonprofit origins.
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  Sam Altman, who took on a prominent leadership role at
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  Open AI, faced scrutiny from both Musk and other Co founders.
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  Sutzkiver and Greg Brockman question Altman's motivations
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  and his desire for the CEO title, noting inconsistencies in
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  his reasoning, they said we haven't been able to fully trust
• 5:25
  your judgments throughout this process.
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  Pointing to Altman's shifting rationale and underlying
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  intentions. Now, the infighting and
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  strategic disagreements culminated in Musk's departure
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  from Open AI. It chose to exit rather than
• 5:38
  continue to push for changes within the organization.
• 5:41
  And following his departure, Musk pursued his own AI
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  initiatives, culminating in the launch of X AI Company, focused
• 5:48
  on developing advanced AI technologies with a robust
• 5:51
  infrastructure that includes a 100,000 GPU strong data center.
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  X AI represents Musk's direct challenge to the current leaders
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  in the AI field, including Open AI and Google's DeepMind.
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  Now, this lawsuit alleges that Open a Eyes transition to a for
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  profit entity was driven by a desire to secure substantial
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  funding, ultimately leading to a significant investment from
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  Microsoft in 2019. Now, this deal, initially valued
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  at $1 billion, laid the foundation for a close
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  partnership that continues to evolve with Microsoft
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  integrating Open A Eyes technology into its products,
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  including the Copilot feature in its software offerings.
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  Now, Musk's lawsuit contends that his partnership resembles a
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  merger and should have been subject to regulatory scrutiny
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  due to its anti competitive nature.
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  Now, emails disclosed as part of the lawsuit provide a glimpse
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  into the financial negotiations and strategic decisions made by
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  Open A IS leadership. In 2016, Microsoft offered Open
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  AI $60 million in Azure compute credits, which came with the
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  expectation that the companies would promote each other's
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  services. Musk, however, recalled it the
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  idea of what he called corporate back scratching, describing the
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  proposal as making him nauseous. This early discomfort
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  foreshadowed Musk's later dissatisfaction with a deepening
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  ties between Open AI and Microsoft.
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  Now, one surprising detail revealed in the court documents
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  was Open AI's early consideration of acquiring
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  another company, Cerebrus, a chip maker specializing in AI
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  hardware. They suggested that the
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  acquisition could be facilitated through Tesla leveraging its
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  resources to support Open AI ambition.
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  The plan ultimately fell through, though, but it
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  illustrates the extent to which Musk and Open AI leadership were
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  willing to explore unconventional strategies to
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  cure an edge in the AI race. Now, despite the legal battle in
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  Musk's vocal criticisms, Open AI has continued to thrive, largely
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  thanks to Microsoft's backing. The software giant's investment
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  has propelled Open AI into a leading position partnership in
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  the AI industry, with its models, including ChatGPT,
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  widely adopted across various sectors.
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  Now, Microsoft's ongoing financial support signals its
• 8:11
  belief in the potential of AI to transform its core business as
• 8:14
  it continues to integrate Open AI technologies into all of its
• 8:17
  products. Now, interestingly, Intel had a
• 8:20
  chance to invest in Open AI early but declined the
• 8:24
  opportunity. In 2017, Intel was offered a 15%
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  stake in Open AI for a billion dollars, an investment the
• 8:32
  company passed on, citing doubts about AI's immediate return on
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  investment. Now, in hindsight, it appears to
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  have been a complete costly misstep as the value of Open AI
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  has soared following its partnership with Microsoft.
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  Now, the expanded lawsuit highlights relationships and
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  power struggles that have shaped the whole industry and if Musk's
• 8:54
  claim, if they're proven true, could have far reaching
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  consequences for other major tech companies and the
• 9:02
  partnerships and competitive strategies in this field.
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  Now the court battle promises to keep exposing internal documents
• 9:10
  and private communications, shedding light on the behind the
• 9:13
  scenes maneuvers of some of the most influential figures in
• 9:17
  tech. Hey, thank you so much for
• 9:24
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 9:26
  support. If you could take a second and
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  hit this subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  appreciate it. It helps out the show
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  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
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  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
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  support the show even more, go to patreon.com Stage zero.
• 9:50
  And please take care of yourselves and each other.
• 9:52
  And I'll see you tomorrow.