Back to evidence index
OPENAI-003Feb 29, 2024Business & TechnologyOpenAIFactual Assertion

Alleged that OpenAI had become a closed-source, maximum-profit de facto subsidiary controlled by Microsoft.

Misleading50%Medium confidenceContested by credible sources

Evidence chain

From statement to verdict.

  1. 01

    Original statement

    Alleged that OpenAI had become a closed-source, maximum-profit de facto subsidiary controlled by Microsoft.

    Feb 29, 2024 · Factual Assertion

  2. 02

    Measurable target

    Present-tense or retrospective claim

    Not applicable

  3. 03

    Observed outcome

    Microsoft had major economic and operational influence, but OpenAI’s nonprofit board formally governed the organization at the time and the 2019 structure used capped investor returns rather than an uncapped maximum-profit model.

    Evaluated Jul 26, 2026

  4. 04

    Verdict and score

    Misleading

    50 of 100 points under the v5 rubric. Some facts are accurate, but omitted context or framing materially changes the reasonable takeaway.

Record details

How this row was evaluated.

Subject category
Business & Technology
Organization or context
OpenAI
Relationship to organization
Former affiliation
Assertion mode
Civil complaint allegation
Deadline result
Not applicable
Eventual outcome
Not applicable
Factual accuracy
Misleading
Canonical classification
Misleading
Score points
50 / 100
Included in headline score
Yes
Research confidence
Medium
Credible-source contestation
Yes
Contestation resolution
Evidence supported substantial Microsoft influence, but not the full formal-control and maximum-profit characterization as stated in 2024.
Correction status
No public correction identified
Deleted after challenge
No
Repeated after correction
No
Evidence-documented repetition count
1

Intent stays separate

Was intentional deception established?

No

Detailed assessment
Not established
Intent evidence level
0 / 3

The cited evidence establishes material missing context, framing, delay, or partial delivery, but it does not directly establish Musk’s contemporaneous knowledge or purpose. Misleading outcome and intentional deception are evaluated separately.

“No” does not mean the statement was true. It means the cited evidence did not meet the higher standard needed to establish the speaker's state of mind.

Why this distinction matters

Evidence strength

A disclosed measure of evidence quality—not a probability.

Component scores measure source quality, corroboration, and directness. Verdict confidence begins with that evidence strength and applies the deductions documented in the methodology.

Evidence strength80of 100
Verdict confidence72Medium
Statement evidence quality26 / 30

Quality and directness of evidence that Musk made the statement.

Outcome evidence quality34 / 40

Quality of evidence establishing the outcome.

Corroboration8 / 15

Independent corroboration across sources and domains.

Directness12 / 15

How directly the evidence resolves the proposition.

Evidence sources
2
Independent source domains
1
Claim audit
Complete
Source audit
Pass

Material contestation is documented and resolved or left Unresolved in the row.

Citations

Read the underlying sources.

Field-level evaluation audit

Every calculated output carries its own evidence basis.

Open any of the 12 audited outputs to see its calculated value, written basis, rule, and cited sources.

01Deadline resultNot applicable

Evidence basis

Compared the original target/timeframe (“Present-tense or retrospective claim”) with the documented outcome. Result: Not applicable. Evidence: Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity; OpenAI LP. URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/

Calculation rule

Compare original target with documented timing.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
02Eventual outcomeNot applicable

Evidence basis

Classified the later real-world result independently from the headline verdict. Result: Not applicable. Documented outcome: Microsoft had major economic and operational influence, but OpenAI’s nonprofit board formally governed the organization at the time and the 2019 structure used capped investor returns rather than an uncapped maximum-profit model. Evidence: Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity; OpenAI LP. URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/

Calculation rule

Classify the later real-world outcome separately from the headline verdict.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
03Factual accuracyMisleading

Evidence basis

Compared the normalized proposition with the cited records. Result: Misleading. Documented outcome: Microsoft had major economic and operational influence, but OpenAI’s nonprofit board formally governed the organization at the time and the 2019 structure used capped investor returns rather than an uncapped maximum-profit model. Evidence: Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity; OpenAI LP. URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/

Calculation rule

Compare the normalized factual proposition with cited evidence.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
04Canonical verdictMisleading

Evidence basis

Factual-claim rule: apply the published True, Mostly True, Misleading, Unsupported, False, or Unresolved definition. Applied result: Misleading (Misleading). Evidence finding: Microsoft had major economic and operational influence, but OpenAI’s nonprofit board formally governed the organization at the time and the 2019 structure used capped investor returns rather than an uncapped maximum-profit model. Evidence: Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity; OpenAI LP. URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/

Calculation rule

Apply strict promise rule or published factual-claim classification.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
05Score points50

Evidence basis

Score assigned mechanically from verdict and claim type under strict-promise-v1.0: Misleading = 50 points.

Calculation rule

Map verdict mechanically to points under the applicable rule.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
06Inclusion in the Trust ScoreYes

Evidence basis

Included because the claim has a resolved evidence-based verdict.

Calculation rule

Include only resolved evidence-based verdicts.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
07Research confidenceMedium

Evidence basis

Evidence strength 80/100 = statement 26/30 + outcome 34/40 + corroboration 8/15 + directness 12/15. Published deductions yield verdict confidence 72/100 (Medium).

Calculation rule

Calculate from evidence components and published deductions.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
08Credible-source contestationYes

Evidence basis

Credible-source contestation: Yes. Resolution: Evidence supported substantial Microsoft influence, but not the full formal-control and maximum-profit characterization as stated in 2024. Evidence URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/

Calculation rule

Record material credible-source disagreement separately from verdict.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
09Correction statusNo public correction identified

Evidence basis

Correction status is bounded to the cited record: No public correction identified. Evidence URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/

Calculation rule

Bound correction finding to cited evidence.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
10Repetition after correctionNo

Evidence basis

Repeated after correction: No. Minimum documented repetition count: 1. Evidence URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/

Calculation rule

Bound repetition finding to cited evidence.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
11Intentional-deception answerNo

Evidence basis

The cited evidence establishes material missing context, framing, delay, or partial delivery, but it does not directly establish Musk’s contemporaneous knowledge or purpose. Misleading outcome and intentional deception are evaluated separately.

Calculation rule

Require direct admission, adjudicated intent finding, or comparably conclusive state-of-mind evidence.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete
12Strict promise resultNot applicable

Evidence basis

Factual-claim rule: apply the published True, Mostly True, Misleading, Unsupported, False, or Unresolved definition. Applied result: Misleading (Misleading). Evidence finding: Microsoft had major economic and operational influence, but OpenAI’s nonprofit board formally governed the organization at the time and the 2019 structure used capped investor returns rather than an uncapped maximum-profit model. Evidence: Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity; OpenAI LP. URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/

Calculation rule

Pass only if every material promise or forecast term was met; otherwise Fail, Pending, Unresolved, or Not applicable.

Evidence strength
80 / 100
Verdict confidence
72 / 100 · Medium
Audit status
Complete

Audit trail

Selection and scoring notes.

v5 classification rationale
Factual-claim rule: apply the published True, Mostly True, Misleading, Unsupported, False, or Unresolved definition. Applied result: Misleading (Misleading). Evidence finding: Microsoft had major economic and operational influence, but OpenAI’s nonprofit board formally governed the organization at the time and the 2019 structure used capped investor returns rather than an uncapped maximum-profit model. Evidence: Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity; OpenAI LP. URLs: https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-425186c7640aa3d0956e99314a9240e2; https://openai.com/index/openai-lp/
v4 → v5 source-package migration audit
Audited, no headline change. Evidence and derived statistics re-audited.
Selection basis
Material v3 expansion claim selected under published inclusion rules
Source quality
AP reporting and OpenAI’s contemporaneous governance documents; governance claims remained politically and legally contested V4 evidence metrics: statement 26/30; outcome 34/40; corroboration 8/15; directness 12/15.
Methodology note
V5 uses strict-promise-v1.0. Later delivery does not earn partial credit for a missed dated promise. Scored under the v3 Misleading category at 50 points. This rating measures demonstrated reliability and does not by itself establish deceptive intent.