Elon Musk says OpenAI “can’t” be trusted. He made the comment after Apple asked a federal judge for emergency oversight of OpenAI’s operations.
Apple wants a preliminary injunction, a court order that forces changes before a case concludes. The filing asks the judge to place OpenAI under forensic supervision, meaning outside investigators could review its internal systems.
How the Apple OpenAI Lawsuit Reached an Injunction Request
Apple submitted nine sworn declarations alongside the motion. The company presented this evidence to show urgency, arguing that OpenAI’s alleged use of stolen hardware secrets causes harm every day. Such oversight is rare in corporate litigation, and it signals how seriously Apple treats the alleged theft.
The OpenAI trade secrets case began in July. Apple accused former employees of leaking unreleased hardware plans to the ChatGPT developer, and OpenAI has denied any wrongdoing. The company disputes the claims in its own court filings and calls the allegations overstated.
The lawsuit does not target OpenAI alone. Apple’s complaint also names io Products, the hardware startup founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive that OpenAI acquired earlier this year for $6.5 billion. That acquisition points to what is actually at stake: Apple argues its trade secrets are now flowing directly into a rival’s AI hardware ambitions, which helps explain the urgency behind its request for emergency oversight.
Apple has also said additional former employees may have passed along confidential data.
OpenAI has pushed back with its own evidence. The company published chat logs it says show Apple employees kept contacting engineer Chang Liu for weeks after he left for OpenAI, asking him to help resolve internal technical problems. OpenAI argues this undercuts Apple’s case, suggesting Apple failed to manage its own access controls when the employee departed rather than losing trade secrets to a rival.
This is not OpenAI’s only legal fight this year. A jury dismissed Musk’s OpenAI suit in May, ruling that he filed his claims too late.
That case followed a narrowed OpenAI lawsuit trial that had reached the courtroom only weeks earlier. That earlier suit also targeted OpenAI’s founding structure, though it ultimately failed on procedural grounds rather than the underlying merits.
Musk Renews His Feud With Altman Over the Case
Musk has criticized OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman for years. Apple’s filing simply gave him fresh ammunition. He posted this reaction on X.
Musk has long argued that OpenAI abandoned its founding nonprofit mission and that Altman now runs the company for profit rather than public benefit. OpenAI representatives have repeatedly denied that characterization in public statements, insisting the company still pursues its original charter.
His July clash with Altman followed the same pattern, with the two trading barbs on X after Apple first sued OpenAI.
The timing also carries weight beyond the courtroom. OpenAI’s path toward a public listing had cleared once Musk’s own suit collapsed earlier this year. A forensic-supervision order could complicate that process, since it would expose sensitive internal operations to outside monitors during a critical stretch.
Apple has not said when it expects a ruling. However, the decision will likely shape how aggressively other companies pursue trade secret claims against fast-moving AI rivals in the months ahead. Musk, meanwhile, seems unlikely to soften his stance regardless of the outcome. For now, the case adds fresh legal pressure onto OpenAI at a moment when the company can least afford distraction.
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