4 'Founder Series' Teslas, rent money, and millions in grants: Elon Musk details his financial contributions to OpenAI

In a recent court filing, Elon Musk disclosed that he has contributed a remarkable $38 million to OpenAI over the years, positioning him as one of the company's most prominent early investors. Among his contributions were quarterly grants of $5 million each, $12.7 million for the organization's rent from 2016 to 2020, and even the gifting of four brand-new Teslas to key employees as a token of appreciation. This revelation surfaces amidst a contentious legal battle between Musk and Sam Altman, a co-founder of OpenAI. Musk has taken legal action against Altman and the organization itself, asserting that his financial backing was predicated on the condition that OpenAI would remain a nonprofit dedicated to serving humanity. In response, OpenAI's legal team has sought to dismiss the case, arguing that Musk's significant contributions were predominantly made through indirect channels, such as donor-advised funds. Musk is advocating for the case to proceed to trial, contending that he directly made most of his contributions, including five quarterly grants of $5 million each during 2016 and 2017. Along with his filing, Musk included a 2017 email sent to OpenAI co-founders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever, in which he offered them the exclusive Founder Series Model 3 Teslas. In the message, he expressed gratitude for their efforts in advancing OpenAI, stating, "I would like to give you each a Founder Series Model 3. These are the earliest cars produced and are not available to the public." Musk also inquired if he should extend the offer to additional team members, mentioning co-founder Wojciech Zaremba. Sutskever responded enthusiastically, thanking Musk and suggesting that co-founder John Schulman should also receive a vehicle. While Musk has publicly stated he contributed $100 million to OpenAI, the organization has indicated that the actual figure is below $45 million. An OpenAI spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the Tesla gifts or other contributions, labeling Musk's lawsuit as "baseless and time-wasting." In the backdrop of this dispute, OpenAI has previously released communications suggesting Musk had advocated for a merger between OpenAI and Tesla. Musk insists that the lawsuit should go forward, highlighting factual disagreements regarding whether OpenAI and its leadership misled him and misappropriated his charitable donations.