After making billions in #TaxDeductible donations to his philanthropy, the owner of #Tesla & SpaceX gave away far less than required in some yrs— & what he did give often supported his #SelfInterests.
Before Mar 2021, #ElonMusk’s charitable foundation never announced any donations to CameronCounty, an impoverished region at the southern tip of TX that is home to his #SpaceX launch site & local ofcls who help regulate it.
#ElonMusk is under no obligation to have a #charity, & he has made clear that he believes his #ForProfit enterprises will change the world for the better far more than any #philanthropic venture could. But once he set up a #nonprofit & filled it w/ #TaxDeductible gifts, he was required by #law to ensure that his foundation served the public, & that it did not operate for the “private benefit” of its leader.
#OpenAI clapped back at #ElonMusk in its first public response to his lawsuit, publishing a blog post w/ old emails showing that the billionaire lobbied to merge the #AI lab w/ #Tesla & use the car company as a “CashCow.” #Musk’s lawsuit accuses OpenAI, which he helped found, of abandoning its original #nonprofit mission of making advanced AI beneficial to humanity.