Elon Musk Dismissed OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Crypto Proposal

Tesla CEO Elon Musk allegedly rejected OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's proposal for a cryptocurrency token launch in early 2018, expressing concerns about potential damage to the company's reputation.

Musk's lawyers stated in a November 14 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that "in January 2018, Altman proposed an ICO or initial coin offering, which would have entailed OpenAI, Inc. selling its own cryptocurrency."

Musk dismissed the idea, stating that "it would simply result in a massive loss of credibility for OpenAI and everyone associated with the ICO."

The court filing alleges that the ICO proposal followed discussions about shifting the organization from a nonprofit to a for-profit structure. Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman reportedly presented the idea in September 2017, to which Musk responded with an ultimatum: "Either go do something on your own or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit."

According to the filing, Altman and Brockman allegedly devised a plan to convert OpenAI into a for-profit structure after Musk opposed the ICO.

Related Lawsuits

On the same day as the filing, a class-action lawsuit accusing Musk of manipulating Dogecoin prices was withdrawn by the plaintiffs. Cointelegraph reported that the plaintiffs chose not to pursue further relief from Musk or Tesla.