Elon Musk ‘shot down’ OpenAI’s ICO plan in 2018 over credibility concerns

As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen interest in tech entrepreneurship and corporate governance, I find the recent court filings involving Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and OpenAI intriguing. Having closely followed the developments of both Tesla and OpenAI, I can’t help but draw parallels between their trajectories.


In early 2018, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and tech entrepreneur, rejected an idea by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to issue a cryptocurrency token, fearing it might tarnish the company’s reputation, as suggested in a recently disclosed court document.

In January 2018, only a few months following their initial excitement expressed in September 2017, Altman suggested a questionable Initial Coin Offering (ICO). This proposal involved OpenAI, Inc. offering its own cryptocurrency for sale, as asserted by Musk’s legal team in a court filing with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on November 14.

Musk also rejected this notion, arguing that it could lead to an enormous hit on OpenAI’s and all connected parties’ credibility within the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) community. The legal team echoed his sentiment.

ICO plans came months after for-profit proposal

Musk’s legal team clarified that the suggestion was made shortly following an effort to persuade Musk, one of the founders of OpenAI together with Sam Altman, to transition the organization from its current non-profit status into a for-profit entity.

As a researcher, I find myself returning to a legal battle that had seemed momentarily resolved. On August 5th, my lawsuit against OpenAI and its co-founder, Sam Altman, was reinstated following an initial pause in June. My grievance stems from allegations that the company breached commitments made to maintain its status as a nonprofit organization, which I first brought forth in February.

Back in September 2017, when Altman and the incumbent president, Greg Brockman, suggested a profit-oriented approach, Elon Musk is reported to have disagreed. His response was along the lines of “Either pursue this independently or stick with OpenAI as a nonprofit organization.

Musk gives ultimatum to Altman and Brockman

Musk expressed that he would cease supporting OpenAI unless they provide a clear assurance about their future plans, or else he is unwittingly subsidizing a startup without any firm commitment from them,” (paraphrased from the original statement)

The attorneys additionally claimed that merely weeks following Musk’s halt of their supposed wealth-making venture, Altman and Brockman concocted a strategy to transform the entity into a profit-driven one.

According to the lawyers, Altman and Brockton came to a mutual understanding that they would work together to establish a framework for a fundraising effort involving equity.

On the identical day that a different lawsuit against Musk was dropped, the accusations were presented in court.

In a turn of events, the legal action initiated as a class-action lawsuit in 2022 against Elon Musk and Tesla over accusations that he manipulated Dogecoin‘s price through public appearances and social media posts was voluntarily dropped by the accusers on November 14.

According to CryptoMoon, the parties involved have decided to drop their appeal at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and refrain from asking for further action or compensation from Elon Musk and the car manufacturing company after the verdict.

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2024-11-16 07:50