5 min learnCould 2, 2026 09:05 AM IST
Elon Musk testified for greater than seven hours over three days this week at a trial in Oakland, California, over the way forward for OpenAI, casting his lawsuit towards the proprietor of ChatGPT as a protection of the establishment of charitable giving.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX in addition to the world’s richest particular person, can be suing OpenAI’s Chief Government Sam Altman and its President Greg Brockman, saying they betrayed him and the general public by abandoning the mission to be a benevolent steward of AI for humanity.
Under is a have a look at key testimony from the trial.
Musk recasts OpenAI as a ‘charity’
The phrase “charity” doesn’t seem as soon as within the 2015 weblog publish saying the formation of OpenAI as a nonprofit synthetic intelligence analysis firm. However Musk repeatedly described OpenAI as a charity and testified that Altman and Brockman reneged on an preliminary promise to maintain the nonprofit mannequin.
“It was particularly meant to be for a charity that doesn’t profit any particular person particular person. I may’ve began it as a for-profit and I particularly selected to not,” Musk testified.
Musk says OpenAI wouldn’t exist with out him
Constructing an AI analysis lab requires top-tier expertise and appreciable computing energy. Musk stated OpenAI relied on his connections for each.
“I got here up with the concept, the identify, recruited the key folks, taught them the whole lot I do know, supplied the entire preliminary funding,” Musk stated.
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Musk stated he recruited Ilya Sutskever, a high researcher, from Google whereas that firm’s founders Larry Web page and Sergei Brin repeatedly tried to entice him to remain.
“After I recruited Ilya to OpenAI, Larry Web page refused to talk to me ever once more,” Musk testified.
On computing energy, Musk stated that OpenAI relied on his connections with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. “The one one who may truly name Satya Nadella and have him choose up was me,” Musk stated. “The one cause he’s on this factor is due to me. These are his phrases.”
Musk on AI security
Musk testified that he realized from discussions with Larry Web page that the Google founder lacked concern about AI security.
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“I stated, ‘What if AI wipes out all people?’ He stated that may be effective as long as synthetic intelligence survives. I stated that was insane, that’s simply loopy. After which he referred to as me a ‘speciesist’ as a result of I care about people greater than AI. … The rationale OpenAI exists is as a result of Larry Web page referred to as me a ‘speciesist.’ … What can be the other of Google? An open-source nonprofit.”
‘It felt like bribe’
Musk stated he requested Altman in late 2022 about an funding of $10 billion in OpenAI by Microsoft, which Musk described as a “bait and change” in a textual content message proven to jurors.
Altman responded, “I agree this feels unhealthy.” Altman then provided Musk a possibility to purchase inventory in OpenAI, which Musk stated “frankly, it felt like a bribe.”
Musk on coaching his personal AI firm
Musk was requested why he used OpenAI to coach his xAI firm if he thought of OpenAI’s mannequin a hazard. “It’s normal observe to make use of different AIs to validate your AI,” Musk stated. Requested why his firm was not structured as a charity, Musk testified, “For revenue firms will be socially helpful.”
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‘We may all die’
Musk’s cross-examination by William Savitt, a lawyer for the OpenAI defendants, was tense at occasions. Musk accused Savitt of asking tough and main questions, which the choose stated was permitted. Savitt was admonished for not permitting Musk to complete his ideas. “Few solutions are going to be full particularly once you lower me off on a regular basis,” Musk stated.
There was additionally pre-trial stress when Musk’s attorneys needed to have the ability to query an skilled witness about extinction threat of AI, one thing OpenAI opposed. “Extinction threat is an actual downside. This can be a actual threat. All of us may die,” stated Musk’s lawyer Steven Molo.
The choose restricted the scope of the skilled’s testimony and stated that she thought “it’s ironic that your consumer, regardless of these dangers, is creating an organization that’s within the actual area.”