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Introduction
Elon Musk’s clash with OpenAI continues to escalate—and this time, it’s not just about artificial intelligence ethics or billion-dollar deals. In a recent court filing, Musk’s legal team made the surprising claim that he “does not use a computer.” This peculiar detail emerged in the midst of a high-stakes lawsuit Musk filed against OpenAI and Sam Altman, accusing the company of abandoning its nonprofit mission in favor of maximizing profits through its collaboration with Microsoft. The situation has drawn sharp scrutiny from both legal experts and the online community, igniting questions about truth, credibility, and the future of AI development.
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In a lawsuit initiated in February 2024, Elon Musk and his AI startup, xAI, accused OpenAI of breaching its founding agreement to develop AI for the “benefit of humanity.” Musk’s complaint asserts that OpenAI has prioritized profit—particularly through its alliance with Microsoft—over its original mission. The latest twist in this legal drama arrived via a court filing on June 22, where Musk’s lawyers claimed that he does not use a computer, responding to OpenAI’s June 20 motion that criticized Musk and xAI for inadequate cooperation in the discovery process.
OpenAI’s legal team accused Musk’s counsel of not intending to collect documents from Musk. In turn, Musk’s lawyers stated that they had already searched Musk’s emails and mobile phone but emphasized that Musk does not use a computer—an assertion that quickly drew skepticism.
Public posts on Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), directly contradict this claim. Musk has previously posted photos of himself with a laptop, including a March 2025 image showing a device with the xAI logo on his workspace. Additionally, insiders close to Musk confirm that he uses computers regularly for business operations and social media engagement.
This discovery dispute is just one component of the larger legal and ideological confrontation between Musk and OpenAI. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018, reportedly due to conflicts over its direction. Since then, he has been vocal in criticizing OpenAI’s commercial trajectory, especially its integration with Microsoft. In response, OpenAI has defended its strategy, asserting that the Microsoft partnership enabled large-scale deployment of powerful AI tools like ChatGPT, benefiting global users.
OpenAI labeled Musk’s lawsuit as an attempt to curb competition, while Musk continues to portray himself as a defender of responsible AI development through his own initiative, xAI, which launched Grok as a rival to ChatGPT.
What Undercode Say:
The claim that Elon Musk “does not use a computer” is not just baffling—it’s almost comical in the face of mounting digital proof to the contrary. In an era where public personas are carefully curated online and hardware is essential to virtually every tech CEO’s workflow, suggesting Musk operates without a computer stretches credulity. He tweets prolifically, manages companies across time zones, and oversees AI development—tasks that simply cannot be executed efficiently without computing devices.
More importantly, this legal argument is emblematic of a deeper tension: the breakdown of trust between co-founders and the corporate pivot of an originally idealistic mission. Musk’s core grievance—that OpenAI betrayed its founding promise by cozying up to Microsoft—raises legitimate philosophical questions. Is it possible to build powerful AI tools for the good of humanity without the resources and infrastructure that tech giants like Microsoft offer? Or does such a partnership inherently compromise that mission?
OpenAI, on its side, rightly argues that without Microsoft’s backing, it would be unable to scale up models like GPT-4 or ChatGPT. But this commercial success comes at a cost: it makes the organization vulnerable to accusations of abandoning transparency and neutrality.
Musk’s launch of xAI is as much a challenge to OpenAI’s dominance as it is a continuation of his techno-utopian philosophy. With Grok, he wants to show that it’s possible to create powerful AI systems grounded in truth-seeking rather than corporate interests. However, Grok’s success will ultimately depend not just on ideology but on real-world performance—and whether it can match the scale and utility of OpenAI’s offerings.
The court’s decision on this case could set a significant precedent, especially regarding how founding agreements of nonprofit-origin tech ventures are interpreted once profit motives enter the picture. But beyond legal documents, this saga underscores the identity crisis facing the AI industry itself: should these tools be public utilities or private products?
In the end, while the legal theatrics about laptop use might grab headlines, the heart of the matter is far more consequential—who controls the future of AI, and what values guide its development?
🔍 Fact Checker Results:
✅ Musk has posted multiple images showing himself using a laptop, including recent ones in 2025.
❌ The claim that Musk doesn’t use a computer is inconsistent with his own digital trail.
✅ Sources close to Musk confirm his regular computer use for professional tasks.
📊 Prediction:
Expect further legal wrangling over discovery and public scrutiny of both parties’ motives. If the case progresses, internal communications from early OpenAI days could surface, possibly validating or undermining Musk’s claims. Additionally, if Musk continues to push the “no computer” line, expect more internet sleuthing and ridicule—potentially weakening his legal credibility in court and public perception alike.
References:
Reported By: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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