Here’s why Elon Musk lost his suit against OpenAI
Here’s why Elon Musk lost his suit against OpenAI
埃隆·马斯克为何输掉了针对 OpenAI 的诉讼
On Monday, the jury in Musk v. Altman dealt Elon Musk a major blow—reaching a unanimous advisory verdict that he had sued OpenAI too late and, as a result, his claims are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately accepted it. 周一，在“马斯克诉奥特曼案”中，陪审团给了埃隆·马斯克沉重一击——他们达成了一致的咨询性裁决，认为马斯克起诉 OpenAI 的时间太晚，因此其诉讼请求已超过法定诉讼时效。美国地方法官伊冯·冈萨雷斯·罗杰斯（Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers）随即采纳了该裁决。
Musk announced on X that he will be appealing the decision. “The judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality,” he wrote. 马斯克在 X 上宣布他将对这一裁决提出上诉。他写道：“法官和陪审团实际上从未对案件的实质内容做出裁决，仅仅是基于时间上的技术性问题。”
OpenAI was cofounded by Musk and a group of researchers in 2015 as a nonprofit with a mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity, unconstrained by a need to generate financial returns. Musk donated $38 million to the company during its early days, allegedly on the basis that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman had promised to keep the company a nonprofit committed to the mission. OpenAI 由马斯克和一群研究人员于 2015 年共同创立，最初是一家非营利组织，其使命是为人类利益开发人工智能，且不受追求财务回报的限制。马斯克在公司成立初期捐赠了 3800 万美元，据称前提是 OpenAI 首席执行官萨姆·奥特曼（Sam Altman）和总裁格雷格·布罗克曼（Greg Brockman）承诺将公司保持为致力于该使命的非营利组织。
Musk brought two claims against OpenAI. First, he argued that Altman and Brockman breached the charitable trust he created through his donations by breaking their promise to keep the company a nonprofit and creating a for-profit subsidiary that ballooned over the years. Second, he argued that Altman and Brockman unjustly enriched themselves at Musk’s expense. He sued OpenAI in 2024. 马斯克对 OpenAI 提出了两项指控。首先，他认为奥特曼和布罗克曼违背了通过其捐款所建立的慈善信托，因为他们打破了保持公司非营利性质的承诺，并创建了一个多年来规模不断膨胀的营利性子公司。其次，他认为奥特曼和布罗克曼以牺牲马斯克的利益为代价实现了不当得利。他于 2024 年起诉了 OpenAI。
Musk asked the court to unwind a 2025 restructuring that converted OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary into a public benefit corporation and to remove Altman and Brockman from their roles. OpenAI argued that the time for Musk to sue the company had run out before he brought the case. The statute of limitations on the breach of charitable trust claim is three years, while the statute of limitations on the unjust enrichment claim is two years. 马斯克要求法院撤销 2025 年的重组计划（该计划将 OpenAI 的营利性子公司转变为一家公益公司），并罢免奥特曼和布罗克曼的职务。OpenAI 则辩称，马斯克在提起诉讼时，起诉期限早已届满。慈善信托违约索赔的诉讼时效为三年，而不当得利索赔的诉讼时效为两年。
This means that Musk should have discovered, or had reason to discover, Altman and Brockman’s alleged breach of charitable trust no earlier than 2021 and their alleged unjust enrichment no earlier than 2022. While Musk argued he discovered that Altman and Brockman had broken their promise only in 2022, OpenAI claimed that Musk had reason to think this well before 2021. 这意味着，马斯克理应在 2021 年之后才发现（或有理由发现）奥特曼和布罗克曼涉嫌违反慈善信托的行为，并在 2022 年之后才发现其涉嫌的不当得利。虽然马斯克辩称他直到 2022 年才发现奥特曼和布罗克曼违背了诺言，但 OpenAI 声称马斯克早在 2021 年之前就有理由产生这种怀疑。
Musk told the jury that he has gone through “three phases” in his beliefs about OpenAI: In phase one, he was “enthusiastically supportive” of the company. In phase two, “I started to lose confidence that they were telling me the truth,” he said. In phase three, “I’m sure they’re looting the nonprofit.” 马斯克告诉陪审团，他对 OpenAI 的看法经历了“三个阶段”：第一阶段，他“热情地支持”该公司。第二阶段，“我开始不再相信他们对我说的实话，”他说。第三阶段，“我确信他们正在掠夺这个非营利组织。”
2017: Musk proposes creating a for-profit subsidiary
2017年：马斯克提议创建营利性子公司
In 2017, two years after OpenAI was founded, Musk and the other cofounders tried to create a for-profit subsidiary to raise enough capital to build artificial general intelligence—powerful AI that can compete with humans on most cognitive tasks. They fought a bitter power battle over who would get to control the entity. Musk also proposed merging OpenAI with his electric-car company, Tesla. 2017 年，即 OpenAI 成立两年后，马斯克和其他联合创始人试图创建一个营利性子公司，以筹集足够的资金来构建通用人工智能（AGI）——即在大多数认知任务上能与人类竞争的强大 AI。他们围绕谁将控制该实体展开了激烈的权力斗争。马斯克还提议将 OpenAI 与他的电动汽车公司特斯拉合并。
During the trial, OpenAI’s lawyers pressed Musk on these discussions, suggesting that Musk knew in 2017 about Altman and Brockman’s plans to pivot the company—even participating in such plans—and had reason to sue then. “I was not opposed to there being a small for-profit that provides funding to the nonprofit,” Musk told the jury, “as long as the tail didn’t wag the dog.” 在庭审期间，OpenAI 的律师就这些讨论向马斯克施压，暗示马斯克在 2017 年就已经知道奥特曼和布罗克曼转型公司的计划——甚至参与了这些计划——因此当时就有理由起诉。“我不反对有一个为非营利组织提供资金的小型营利性机构，”马斯克告诉陪审团，“只要‘尾巴不摇狗’（即主次不颠倒）就行。”
2019: OpenAI creates a for-profit subsidiary with capped profits
2019年：OpenAI 创建了利润上限的营利性子公司
In 2019, OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary, under which employees and investors would receive a capped return on their investment. At the same time, the company secured a $1 billion investment from Microsoft. OpenAI argued that Musk again had reason to sue the company then. But Musk testified that he didn’t think the move was violating the nonprofit’s mission. “If you’ve got a capped-profit situation, it hasn’t violated the nonprofit’s goal,” Musk told the jury earlier in the trial. “There was no basis for me to file a lawsuit at that time.” 2019 年，OpenAI 创建了一个营利性子公司，员工和投资者在该子公司获得的投资回报设有上限。与此同时，该公司获得了微软 10 亿美元的投资。OpenAI 辩称，马斯克当时又有理由起诉该公司。但马斯克作证说，他认为此举并未违反非营利组织的使命。“如果你处于利润上限的情况下，它并没有违反非营利组织的目标，”马斯克在庭审早些时候告诉陪审团，“当时我没有理由提起诉讼。”
2020: Microsoft snags an exclusive license
2020年：微软获得独家许可
In 2020, when Microsoft secured an exclusive license to OpenAI’s GPT-3 model, Musk posted on X: “This does seem like the opposite of open. OpenAI is essentially captured by Microsoft.” OpenAI once again argued that Musk had reason to sue then. But Musk testified that after reading the post, Altman reassured him that “OpenAI was staying on the mission as a nonprofit.” Musk said although he was skeptical, he still had no reason to sue the company at that point. 2020 年，当微软获得 OpenAI GPT-3 模型的独家许可时，马斯克在 X 上发帖称：“这看起来确实与‘开放’背道而驰。OpenAI 本质上已被微软控制。”OpenAI 再次辩称，马斯克当时就有理由起诉。但马斯克作证说，在阅读了该帖子后，奥特曼向他保证“OpenAI 仍作为非营利组织坚守使命”。马斯克表示，尽管他持怀疑态度，但在当时他仍然没有理由起诉该公司。
2022: Microsoft prepares to invest $10 billion in OpenAI
2022年：微软准备向 OpenAI 投资 100 亿美元
It was only in 2022, Musk testified, that he discovered OpenAI had abandoned its nonprofit mission. At that time, Microsoft was preparing to invest $10 billion in OpenAI—a deal that closed in 2023. “I was disturbed to see OpenAI with a $20B valuation,” Musk texted Altman after reading the news. “This is a bait and switch.” 马斯克作证说，直到 2022 年，他才发现 OpenAI 已经放弃了其非营利使命。当时，微软正准备向 OpenAI 投资 100 亿美元——这笔交易于 2023 年完成。“看到 OpenAI 拥有 200 亿美元的估值，我感到不安，”马斯克在阅读新闻后给奥特曼发短信说。“这简直是挂羊头卖狗肉（诱饵转换）。”
Musk told the jury this was the moment that made him realize “the for-profit is the tail wagging the dog.” He thought Microsoft would give $10 billion only if it expected “a very big financial return.” He argued that this was the point he realized “OpenAI had become, for all intents and purposes, a for-profit company with a $20 billion valuation.” “The 2023 deal was different,” Steven Molo, one of Musk’s lawyers, hammered home during his closing argument. 马斯克告诉陪审团，那一刻让他意识到“营利性业务成了摇狗的尾巴”。他认为，微软只有在预期“获得巨大财务回报”的情况下才会投入 100 亿美元。他辩称，就在那一刻，他意识到“OpenAI 在所有意图和目的上都已经成为一家估值 200 亿美元的营利性公司”。“2023 年的交易性质不同，”马斯克的律师之一史蒂文·莫洛（Steven Molo）在结案陈词中强调道。
The jury sides with OpenAI
陪审团站在 OpenAI 一边
It was up to the jury to decide whether the evidence supported Musk’s claim that he first realized in 2023 that OpenAI was no longer a nonprofit committed to its mission. In the verdict announced today, they found Musk did in fact have reason to think that he was being misled by Altman and Brockman before 2021. They did not address whether he was in fact misled. 陪审团需要决定证据是否支持马斯克的说法，即他直到 2023 年才意识到 OpenAI 不再是一个致力于其使命的非营利组织。在今天宣布的裁决中，他们认定马斯克实际上在 2021 年之前就有理由认为自己受到了奥特曼和布罗克曼的误导。他们并未涉及他是否真的受到了误导。
Courts often decide cases on procedural grounds like statutes of limitations when they can, because it can be the cleaner way to resolve a case than to grapple with its merits. Musk has said he will appeal the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a federal appellate court that… 法院在可能的情况下，往往会基于诉讼时效等程序性理由来裁决案件，因为这比处理案件的实质内容更简洁。马斯克表示，他将向第九巡回上诉法院提出上诉，这是一个联邦上诉法院，该法院将……