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Elon Musk In Krakow, Poland
Elon Musk (Beata Zawrzel/Getty Images)
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Musk wants the court to slow OpenAI’s roll

He wants a crackdown on OpenAI allegedly telling its investors to boycott investing in other AI startups.

Jack Raines
12/3/24 3:16PM

Another bit of Elon news: on Friday, he filed a preliminary injunction against OpenAI in federal court to stop the $157 billion startup from converting into a fully for-profit business. For context, Musk, who cofounded OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015 and left the company after a disagreement with its other cofounders over the company’s direction, already sued OpenAI twice in the last year, first in a San Francisco court in March, before dropping that lawsuit and refiling a new suit in federal court in August.

In the previous suits, Musk alleged that he was “courted and deceived” by Sam Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman to cofound a nonprofit while Altman always intended to build out a for-profit company under the surface. Musk, whose AI startup xAI is a competitor to OpenAI, has said in his latest injunction that OpenAI led a group boycott of investment capital blocking its current investors from investing in xAI, and that the company should be blocked from “benefitting from wrongfully obtained competitively sensitive information or coordination via the Microsoft-OpenAI board interlocks.”

Basically, Musk doesn’t want OpenAI to convert to a for-profit model, as it goes against the company’s charter, and he wants to prevent OpenAI from allegedly requiring investors to not invest in its competitors. Of course, he has 50 billion reasons to want to slow down OpenAI, given xAI’s recent fundraise, but it is interesting to see the CEO of the world’s most valuable auto company and one of its highest-profile AI companies playing defense in the court with one company, while he’s full-court pressing with the other.

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Amazon is testing adding GM electric vans to its EV delivery fleet dominated by Rivian

Rivian may have some competition in its electric delivery van division: Bloomberg reports that Amazon is testing a small number of GM’s BrightDrop vans for its fleet.

According to Amazon, the test currently only includes a dozen of the vehicles. Amazon’s fleet also contains EVs from Ford, Stellantis, and Mercedes-Benz.

GM debuted BrightDrop in 2021, but the vehicles have struggled to sell and piled up on GM lots due to high prices and steep competition. GM began offering up to 40% rebates on the vehicles this year.

The test comes as Rivian struggles through tariffs and the end of EV tax credits. Earlier this year, it lowered its annual delivery outlook by about 13%. As of June, Amazon said it has more than 25,000 Rivian vans across the US. Earlier this week, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the company is still on track to deliver 100,000 vans to Amazon by 2030 and is “thinking about what comes beyond” that initial target.

GM has sold 1,592 BrightDrop vans through the first half of the year, more than the full-year total it sold in 2024.

GM debuted BrightDrop in 2021, but the vehicles have struggled to sell and piled up on GM lots due to high prices and steep competition. GM began offering up to 40% rebates on the vehicles this year.

The test comes as Rivian struggles through tariffs and the end of EV tax credits. Earlier this year, it lowered its annual delivery outlook by about 13%. As of June, Amazon said it has more than 25,000 Rivian vans across the US. Earlier this week, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the company is still on track to deliver 100,000 vans to Amazon by 2030 and is “thinking about what comes beyond” that initial target.

GM has sold 1,592 BrightDrop vans through the first half of the year, more than the full-year total it sold in 2024.

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Paramount Skydance reportedly preparing an Ellison-backed Warner Bros. Discovery takeover bid, sending shares soaring

Paramount Skydance is preparing a majority cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, The Wall Street Journal reported, sending shares of both companies surging. The Journal’s sources say the deal is backed by the Ellison family, led by David Ellison.

WBD shares were up 30% on the report, while Paramount Skydance jumped 8%.

The offer would cover WBD’s entire business — cable networks, movie studios, the whole enchilada. That comes after WBD announced plans last year to split into two divisions: one for streaming and studios, the other for its traditional cable and TV assets. A recent Wells Fargo note gave WBD a price target hike, primarily because the analysts viewed it as a prime takeover candidate.

If the deal goes through, it would bring together HBO, CNN, DC Studios, and Warner Bros.’ film library with Paramount+, Nickelodeon, and MTV, all under one umbrella.

The offer would cover WBD’s entire business — cable networks, movie studios, the whole enchilada. That comes after WBD announced plans last year to split into two divisions: one for streaming and studios, the other for its traditional cable and TV assets. A recent Wells Fargo note gave WBD a price target hike, primarily because the analysts viewed it as a prime takeover candidate.

If the deal goes through, it would bring together HBO, CNN, DC Studios, and Warner Bros.’ film library with Paramount+, Nickelodeon, and MTV, all under one umbrella.

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