Elon Musk walked into a courtroom on Tuesday to testify in a high-stakes trial against OpenAI. The world’s wealthiest person sued the maker of ChatGPT, its top executive, Sam Altman, and its president, Greg Brockman. Musk claims the leaders betrayed him and the public. He argues they destroyed their original promise to build a safe, nonprofit artificial intelligence lab for the good of humanity. Now, he demands exactly $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and its major backer, Microsoft.
On the witness stand, Musk told the jury he built OpenAI from the ground up. He stated he gave the project its name, hired the smartest people, and provided roughly $38 million in early funding. He insisted he purposely set up the lab in 2015 as a purely charitable organization. Musk warned the court that if people can simply steal from a charity to make a profit, they will destroy the entire system of charitable giving in America.
Lawyers representing OpenAI painted a very different picture for the jury. Defense attorney William Savitt told the courtroom that Musk actually pushed the company to chase profits from the very beginning. Savitt claimed Musk desperately wanted the keys to the kingdom and only filed this angry lawsuit because he failed to become the chief executive officer. The lawyer told the room that Musk hates losing and simply wants to stay on top of the world of technology.
The legal fight centers entirely on how OpenAI makes and spends its money. The company originally launched as a nonprofit research group. However, in March 2019, the leaders created a new for-profit branch. They told the public they desperately needed billions of dollars to buy computer chips and hire expensive scientists to compete with Google’s DeepMind lab. This change opened the door for massive outside investors. By January 2023, Microsoft had made a historic $10 billion investment in OpenAI.
Serious courtroom drama erupted before the jury even sat down in their chairs. United States District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers scolded Musk for his recent internet behavior. Just one day earlier, Musk hopped on his social media platform X and called the chief executive, Sam Altman, a “scam”. He accused Altman of openly stealing from a charity. The judge warned Musk to stop trying to win the case on the internet. Musk quickly agreed to limit his online posts about the trial, and Altman agreed to do the same.
Musk spent a large portion of his testimony talking about the extreme dangers of artificial intelligence. He mentioned past meetings with former President Barack Obama to discuss severe technology risks. He also talked about his old friendship with Google co-founder Larry Page. Musk testified that they talked for many hours, but he realized Page did not care enough about keeping humans safe from smart computers. This intense fear, Musk claimed, drove him to start OpenAI as a direct shield against Google.
OpenAI completely rejected Musk’s story about caring for human safety. The defense team told the jury that Musk actively insulted workers who focused on keeping the technology safe. According to lawyer William Savitt, Musk regularly called those safety-minded employees jackasses. Savitt argued that Musk cared only about building a massive business empire, not about saving humanity from robots.
The financial stakes in this courtroom sit at record highs. OpenAI recently hit an estimated value of more than $850 billion. Some financial experts predict the company could soon sell shares to the public and reach a staggering $1 trillion valuation. Meanwhile, Musk founded his own artificial intelligence company, xAI, in 2023. He recently merged that new project into his rocket company, SpaceX. Currently, xAI trails far behind OpenAI in regular daily users.
Musk wants the judge to rip up OpenAI’s current business model completely. Late last year, the company transformed into a public benefit corporation. Under this new setup, the original nonprofit group holds a 26% stake in the massive business. Musk rejects this compromise entirely. He wants the court to fire Altman and Brockman, impose heavy penalties on Microsoft, and return OpenAI to a strict charity model. The trial will continue into next week as more tech leaders take the stand.
