Recently, old emails surfaced in which Sam Altman was "sounding out the ground" and convincing Elon Musk to invest in the creation and development of OpenAI.

On November 16, Elon Musk's legal team submitted new documents as part of the refiled lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, filed in early August in San Francisco court. The documents primarily describe the process of forming the artificial intelligence company, which is now valued at $157 billion, including the initial correspondence that Altman sent to Musk, proposing the idea of founding the company in 2015.

According to documents, in early March 2015, Musk prepared an open letter to the U.S. government, highlighting the need for safe management of AI development. After reading this letter, Altman saw an "opportunity" and decided to reach out to Musk via email.

"I have thought a lot about whether humanity can prevent the development of AI. I believe the answer is definitely no," - wrote Altman. "If it is inevitable, it seems reasonable for someone other than Google to be the first to do it."

Altman speculated on whether Y Combinator, the investment fund he once led, should launch the "Manhattan Project in AI." He then suggested hiring around 50 top specialists for the new project, which would "belong to the world through a non-profit organization, but the people working on it would receive compensation comparable to a startup," if the project turns out to be successful.

"Perhaps we should discuss this," replied Musk.

A month later, Altman sent a new letter with a detailed five-point proposal for the AI lab. First, the organization's mission was to create the first general AI and use it to empower individuals, a "distributed version of the safest future," where safety must be the top priority.

Altman also noted that the ideal initial team should consist of 7-10 people and gradually expand, working from his home in Mountain View. He also suggested 5 people for the board of directors, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Pierre Omidyar, Dustin Moskovitz, and Altman himself.

"The technology will belong to the Foundation and will be used for the benefit of the whole world. In case of unclear questions, we will vote in a group of five. Researchers will receive significant funding, but it will not be tied to what they create. This will eliminate some conflicts. We will often discuss which models should be open and which should not. At some point, we will realize that one person is managing the group, but this person should not be on the board of directors," wrote Altman in a letter.

Altman believed that for the successful development of the project, Musk should come in once a month and communicate directly with key employees. He also prepared a plan that required only the name of the American billionaire. "When everything is ready, I will announce it with a message like: 'Now that we are doing this, I have thought a lot about the constraints necessary for the world to ensure safety' and in the end, I will be glad if you subscribe," Altman wrote.

"I agree with everything," - replied Musk.

After this correspondence, OpenAI was born.

Musk's lawyers emphasized that Altman "tried to convince Tesla's CEO to leverage his financial resources and connections." In addition, the American billionaire also added Microsoft to the list of defendants and accused OpenAI of "effectively merging" with the software giant and participating in anti-competitive activities in the AI sector.

The parties have not yet commented on the situation.

In 2018, Musk left the board of directors of OpenAI, stating that "AI could be more dangerous than nuclear weapons." After that, he repeatedly criticized the company he co-founded for its pursuit of profit and departure from its original mission for the benefit of humanity. He filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in February, then withdrew it before filing again in August.

According to Business Insider, Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI with investments of 13 billion dollars. Over the past years, the company has gradually strengthened its position in the company that created ChatGPT.