OAKLAND, Calif. — Tesla CEO Elon Musk continued his courtroom testimony Wednesday for the second consecutive day in a high-profile federal lawsuit against OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, whom he claims violated agreements to maintain the artificial intelligence company as a nonprofit organization.
The legal battle focuses on how the company behind ChatGPT transformed from its 2015 launch as a nonprofit startup — largely bankrolled by Musk — into a for-profit enterprise now worth $852 billion. The trial began Monday and is anticipated to continue for approximately three weeks.
During his testimony, Musk detailed his version of OpenAI’s formation, explaining how he contributed roughly $38 million to the venture between December 2015 and May 2017. The billionaire described losing faith in Altman’s commitment to maintaining the nonprofit structure. Under questioning from his attorney Steven Molo, Musk testified that by the end of 2022, he suspected Altman was attempting to “steal the charity.”
“It turned out to be true,” Musk declared from the witness stand, dressed in his typical courtroom uniform of a black suit and tie.
Altman, who serves as OpenAI’s chief executive, attended the proceedings at the Oakland federal courthouse but was not expected to provide testimony Wednesday.
OpenAI’s legal team has dismissed the accusations in Musk’s civil case, asserting that no binding commitments were ever made to maintain nonprofit status indefinitely. The company contends that Musk’s lawsuit represents an attempt to hamper OpenAI’s explosive expansion while promoting his own competing artificial intelligence venture, xAI, which he established in 2023.
