OpenAI Exec Says McLaren’s Party Left Her With A $762,000 Fine

OpenAI’s Fidji Simo sued McLaren and BMF Media over an unpermitted event.
Monterey County fined Simo $762k for permit violations paid before appeal.
The lawsuit claims McLaren’s team hid the citation to keep the party going.

When Monterey Car Week rolls around, the biggest brands in the automotive world show up. They often rent out luxury estates, host private soirées, and court collectors and VIPs with the kind of exclusivity only the auto elite can manage.

Read: Vandalized Supercars Turn Monterey’s Biggest Event Into A Midnight Crime Scene

This year, though, one of those events appears to have gone off the rails, and now we’re seeing how it all unfolded. An AI executive says McLaren threw a party at her home without permission, leaving her with a $761,975 county citation and a legal headache.

Inside The Lawsuit

The executive in question is Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications. She and her husband are taking the British supercar maker to court because it allegedly used her property for an event without getting proper permits.

The court documents, first spotted by the SF Chronicle, reveal that the property is located at 22 Scarlett Rd, Carmel Valley, CA. It features a French country chateau with four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and over 5,400 square feet.

OpenAI Exec Says McLaren’s Party Left Her With A $762,000 Fine — Redfin

Redfin estimates its value at somewhere between $6.16 and $7.45 million. And it’s easy to see why McLaren, or any other supercar builder, might want to throw a party there. Not only is it a stunning piece of property, but it’s also only around 25 minutes away from prominent Monterey Car Week attractions.

The Permit Problem

Simo’s complaint alleges that McLaren and BMF Media, the company responsible for putting on the event, didn’t get proper permits to do so. On August 13, Monterey County officials reportedly cited BMF Media for the violation, initially fining the company $505,000.

The suit claims staff told Simo’s property manager that the issue had been “resolved” but failed to mention the citation or the missing permits. A revised citation issued later boosted the fine to nearly $762,000, an amount the Simo family was required to pay in full before appealing under county regulations.

Simo’s legal team argues that the defendants knowingly hid the problem because they feared the homeowners would shut down the rest of the weeklong McLaren event. The suit further claims the couple endured “annoyance, distress, and mental anguish” stemming from the ordeal.

On October 30, Simo’s legal team voluntarily dismissed the suit and said it plans to refile with additional defendants, so McLaren and BMF Media are evidently not the only ones potentially on the hook here.