Key Highlights
- Elon Musk spent almost three full days testifying that he contributed $38 million to OpenAI under false pretenses before its for-profit transformation
- The billionaire demands Sam Altman and Greg Brockman be ousted from leadership, alongside damages reaching $180 billion
- A 2017 journal entry by Brockman indicates early discussions among founders about transitioning to a for-profit model
- Just 48 hours before trial commenced, Musk attempted settlement negotiations, cautioning the executives they’d become America’s “most hated men”
- Under oath, Musk confirmed xAI engaged in partial distillation of rival AI systems, possibly including OpenAI’s technology
The high-stakes legal confrontation between Musk and OpenAI has entered its second week, with additional pivotal witnesses scheduled to appear in Oakland, California.
Greg Brockman, who serves as OpenAI’s President, is scheduled for Monday testimony. His appearance comes after Musk’s extensive nearly 72-hour stint in the witness box during the previous week.
According to Musk’s testimony, his $38 million contribution to OpenAI was made based on assurances the organization would maintain its nonprofit status. He contends that Altman and Brockman deceived him while covertly developing plans to restructure the company as a profit-driven entity.
The Tesla CEO’s legal petition demands three specific outcomes: termination of Altman and Brockman from their executive positions, financial compensation up to $180 billion, and nullification of OpenAI’s corporate restructuring.
Court documents recently unsealed show Musk contacted Brockman just two days prior to trial commencement in an effort to negotiate a settlement. According to records, when Brockman proposed mutual withdrawal of all claims, Musk purportedly responded, “By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America.”
Personal Journal Entries Take Center Stage
Musk’s attorneys plan to present Brockman’s private diary entries as critical evidence. A 2017 passage allegedly states, “We’ve been thinking that maybe we should just flip to a for profit. Making the money for us sounds great and all.”
In his videotaped deposition, Brockman maintained the notation pertained to developing sustainable revenue streams to advance OpenAI’s core objectives, rather than enriching founders personally.
Proceedings also disclosed that during 2017, Musk directed his associate Jared Birchall to prepare incorporation documents for a profit-oriented OpenAI entity. Musk characterized this as a precautionary measure that ultimately went unused.
Evidence presented in court included a text from Shivon Zilis, then an OpenAI board member, to Birchall stating: “Heads up. Seems like Greg, Ilya, Elon a go on for-profit.”
Unprompted AI Rankings and Distillation Confession
While testifying, Musk voluntarily provided his assessment of leading AI organizations. His rankings positioned Anthropic at the top, followed by OpenAI in second place, Google in third, Chinese open-source initiatives fourth, with his xAI venture landing fifth.
He further conceded that xAI had engaged in “partial” distillation of competing AI systems—a technique involving large-scale querying of one artificial intelligence to train another.
Characterizing xAI as a “very small company,” Musk estimated its scale at approximately one-tenth of OpenAI’s operations. SpaceX completed its acquisition of xAI this past February.
The witness roster for upcoming trial days includes Sam Altman, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella, former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, and founding member Ilya Sutskever.
Proceedings launched on April 28 under U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, with expectations the trial will span multiple weeks and potentially conclude with a decision around mid-May.
