OpenAI has filed a complaint in a US federal court, accusing the xAI startup of systematically deleting internal communications crucial to an antitrust lawsuit. According to lawyers for the ChatGPT developer, Elon Musk's subordinates used messaging apps with an auto-disappearing message feature to conceal the lack of real evidence of anti-competitive practices. This was reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
In a court document filed on Monday, OpenAI claims that xAI has not provided any non-public documents – neither emails nor messages in Signal or XChat – to support its accusations. OpenAI emphasizes that the opponent had a legal obligation to preserve correspondence, as it was preparing the lawsuit itself, but deliberately chose tools to "destroy evidence."
Communications regarding every aspect of xAI's business went through these tools even when the company knew it planned to sue. The whole point was to destroy evidence, which puts us at a disadvantage
The essence of the conflict and OpenAI's demands
Recall that in August, Musk's companies filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Apple, claiming that the integration of ChatGPT into iPhone systems harms competition and hinders the development of the Grok chatbot.
Musk is demanding billions of dollars in damages. In response, OpenAI accuses the billionaire of waging a personal revenge campaign against Sam Altman, with whom they co-founded the startup in 2015.
OpenAI is currently asking the Fort Worth court to issue an order prohibiting xAI employees from using disappearing messengers. The company also insists on appointing a "neutral judicial inspector" to investigate the facts of information deletion and determine the extent of punishment for the plaintiff.