Elon Musk has unexpectedly asked a California court to withdraw a legal case against OpenAI and its boss Sam Altman, which accused them of abandoning the firm’s founding mission of developing artificial intelligence (AI) for humanity’s benefit.

The filing submitted by the multi-billionaire’s lawyers asked for the months-old case to be dropped without offering any reason for the move. This unexpected turn of events has left many wondering about the motivations behind Musk’s decision.

It came just a day before the court was expected to hear the ChatGPT-developer’s bid to have the case dismissed. The timing of Musk’s request adds further intrigue to the situation.

BBC News has contacted Mr Musk’s lawyer and OpenAI for comment, but as of now, there has been no response from either party. The lack of official statement leaves room for speculation and uncertainty.

The latest filing asked for the case’s dismissal “without prejudice”, meaning Mr Musk could still reactivate it at a later stage. This legal maneuver suggests that Musk might not be entirely done with pursuing this matter.

The Tesla boss filed the lawsuit against OpenAI at the end of February this year, arguing the company he had helped found in 2015 had deviated from its altruistic goals to focus on making money. The legal battle seemed to be a clash of ideals between Musk and the organization.

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