According to a report in the Financial Times, lawyers for Musk have contacted attorneys-general in Delaware and California to demand that a large stake in OpenAI be sold off in an open auction process.

In his letter, Musk’s lawyer pushed the attorneys general to allow outside investors to bid for the nonprofit’s stake in OpenAI. If successful, that could allow an outside investor to take a significant position in, and to exercise control over, the start-up.

OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji was found dead in his apartment last year, sparking widespread controversy, with many, including Elon Musk, questioning the circumstances surrounding his death. His mother recently revealed that Balaji had opposed OpenAI's shift to a for-profit model,