Elon Musk Gets Combative on the Stand in Landmark OpenAI Trial Against Sam Altman

Elon Musk took the stand for the second day in the landmark trial that pits the world's richest person against Sam Altman, a fellow OpenAI co-founder he accuses of betraying promises to keep the company as a nonprofit dedicated to humanity's benefit. The trial centers on the 2015 birth of the ChatGPT maker as a nonprofit startup primarily funded by Musk before evolving into a capitalistic venture now valued at $852 billion. Musk fired back at OpenAI's lawyer in a tense cross-examination during the second day of the long-awaited trial. Musk, who invested about $38 million in OpenAI from December 2015 through May 2017, gave his account of OpenAI's early years — recounting how by late 2022 he was convinced Altman was trying to "steal the charity." OpenAI's lead lawyer William Savitt tried to undermine Musk's credibility, highlighting Musk's ample opportunity to object to Microsoft's involvement and multi-billion dollar investments before filing his lawsuit in 2024. Savitt also pressed Musk on whether he ever proposed that OpenAI form a for-profit arm, pointing to emails and meeting notes where Musk appeared to say OpenAI needed a for-profit aspect to compete against Google. The exchanges escalated enough for Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to intervene several times. Musk will return to the stand to complete his testimony. The trial is expected to last about four weeks.