Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will face additional questioning Thursday in an Oakland, California courtroom as his legal battle with artificial intelligence company OpenAI continues.
The billionaire entrepreneur has filed suit against OpenAI, claiming the organization and its leaders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman misled him when they secured his $38 million in contributions. Musk contends he was promised the funds would support a nonprofit dedicated to developing artificial intelligence safely for humanity’s benefit, but the company later shifted to a profit-driven model.
OpenAI’s defense team argues that Musk’s motivations stem from his desire to dominate the AI company and resentment over its achievements following his departure from the board in 2018. They also claim Musk showed little concern for safety protocols during his tenure and is now attempting to promote his competing AI venture, xAI, which trails OpenAI in market reach.
During Tuesday’s heated courtroom proceedings, OpenAI attorney William Savitt challenged Musk with communications evidence, including text messages and emails demonstrating Musk had previously shown interest in establishing a for-profit structure and had been informed about Microsoft’s financial backing.
On Wednesday, federal court jurors viewed a 2017 email where Musk called himself a “fool” for funding what he understood to be a nonprofit organization.
“I felt like they had not been honest with me,” Musk testified when questioned by his attorney Steven Molo. “What they really wanted to do was create a for-profit where they had as much shareholder ownership as possible.”
OpenAI maintains it established its for-profit division to secure private funding necessary for purchasing computational resources and compensating leading researchers.
Thursday’s proceedings will feature approximately one hour of additional questioning from Savitt, followed by examination from Microsoft’s legal representation.
The trial, which began Monday, is anticipated to continue for several weeks. Following Musk’s testimony, the court expects to hear from his senior advisor Jared Birchall, OpenAI’s Brockman, and artificial intelligence safety researcher Stuart Russell.
