Musk at OpenAI Trial: 'You Cannot Steal a Charity'

Elon Musk took the stand in a pivotal trial over the future of OpenAI, framing his lawsuit against the maker of ChatGPT as a defense of charitable giving.

The world's richest man is suing OpenAI, its CEO Sam Altman, and chairman Greg Brockman. In his testimony Tuesday, Musk said they betrayed him and the public by abandoning OpenAI's mission to steward AI benevolently for humanity, turning a non-profit into a profit-seeking juggernaut.

“If we allow the theft of a charity to be acceptable, then the entire foundation of charitable giving in America will be destroyed,” Musk said at the trial. “That's my concern.”

Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, also said he is committed to serving the public by working 80 to 100 hours per week and often forgoing vacations. “I enjoy working and solving problems that make people's lives better,” he said.

Before Musk began, OpenAI and Altman lawyer Bill Savitt told the jury in his opening statement that it was Musk who saw a money-making opportunity when he helped fund OpenAI's early development and pushed it to become a for-profit business where he could be CEO. Savitt said Musk wanted “the keys to the kingdom” and only sued after failing, then in 2023 founding his own AI company xAI, now part of SpaceX. “What he cares about is Elon Musk being in charge,” Savitt said.

OpenAI's lawyer also argued that creating a for-profit entity in March 2019 was critical to buying computing power and paying top scientists to compete with Google's AI lab DeepMind. Musk's lawyer Steven Molo told the jury it was the OpenAI defendants who were greedy for money as OpenAI began attracting investors, including Microsoft. “It was not a vehicle for people to become rich,” Molo said.

Musk Admonished Over Social Media Use

Musk is seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its largest investors, with the proceeds to go to OpenAI's charitable arm. He also wants OpenAI to revert to a non-profit, remove Altman and Brockman from management, and oust Altman from the board. Musk's allegations include breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.

Before the jury entered, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers admonished Musk after OpenAI's lawyer complained about a Monday post on X in which he called Altman “Scam Altman” and accused him of stealing a charity. Rogers said she was reluctant to issue a gag order, but advised Musk to “try to restrain your tendency to use social media to influence outside the courtroom… Maybe you've never done that before.” Musk agreed to minimize social media activity, as did Altman. Both are expected to testify, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

The trial could expose the egos and personalities that shaped OpenAI as it grew from a non-profit research lab in Brockman's apartment into a company worth over $850 billion. It also risks complicating OpenAI's potential initial public offering (IPO) by casting doubt on its leadership, and could increase American fears about AI technology in general.

Lawyers Dispute Importance of AI Safety to Musk

OpenAI was co-founded by Musk and Altman in 2015 with the goal of developing AI for the benefit of humanity and countering rivals like Google. Musk testified that he had “extremely serious concerns about AI for a very long time,” focusing more after meetings with former U.S. President Barack Obama and Google failing to address AI risks. “I was close friends with Google's Larry Page,” Musk said, referring to Google's co-founder. “We talked for hours about AI safety. At some point, it became clear that Larry Page didn't care enough about AI… We had to have a counterweight to Google.”

Savitt, in his opening statement, said AI safety was not Musk's priority and that Musk derided OpenAI employees focused on it. “He called them 'fools,'” Savitt said. Musk said he provided about $38 million to OpenAI for its original mission, only to see OpenAI create a for-profit entity 13 months after he left the board. Musk's lawyer Molo argued the turning point for Musk was when Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI in January 2023. “It violated every commitment the defendants had made, not just to Elon, but to the world,” he said. Microsoft lawyer Russell Cohen said in his opening statement that the company did nothing wrong and “has been a responsible partner all along.”

Musk's xAI now lags far behind OpenAI in users. He merged that business into SpaceX, which has a potential IPO this year that could be the largest ever. Last fall, OpenAI restructured again to become a public benefit corporation, with the non-profit and other investors including Microsoft owning shares. The non-profit holds 26% of shares, along with warrants if OpenAI meets certain valuation targets.