OAKLAND, Calif. — Two of Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures are preparing for a legal battle that could determine the future direction of artificial intelligence technology.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman will square off in federal court beginning Monday, when jury selection starts for a case centered on accusations of broken promises, deception, and corporate greed that destroyed their former partnership in AI development.
At the heart of the dispute is OpenAI’s transformation from its 2015 origins as a nonprofit organization largely backed by Musk’s funding into today’s profit-focused enterprise worth $852 billion that created ChatGPT.
The case’s resolution could significantly influence who controls AI advancement — technology that many worry could eliminate jobs and potentially threaten human existence.
These concerns drive Musk’s lawsuit, filed in August 2024, which will be heard by a jury and U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California. As the world’s wealthiest individual, Musk argues these risks justify his legal action.
In his civil complaint, Musk accuses Altman and his second-in-command Greg Brockman of betraying him by abandoning the San Francisco-based company’s original charitable mission to responsibly oversee revolutionary technology. Instead, he claims they secretly pivoted toward profit-making operations.
OpenAI dismisses Musk’s claims as baseless resentment designed to harm its rapid expansion while promoting Musk’s competing venture, xAI, which he established in 2023.
Between December 2015 and May 2017, Musk contributed approximately $38 million to OpenAI and originally demanded over $100 billion in compensation.
However, potential damages have decreased substantially following several unfavorable pre-trial decisions. Musk no longer pursues personal compensation and now requests unspecified funds to support OpenAI’s charitable division. The payment would come mainly from OpenAI’s commercial operations and Microsoft, which became the company’s largest investor after Musk withdrew his support.
Musk’s legal action also demands Altman’s removal from OpenAI’s board of directors. The funding cutoff created a bitter rift between the former partners. Musk claims he responded to misleading behavior that OpenAI’s board recognized when they dismissed Altman as CEO in 2023, though he regained his position days later.
The trial presents potential dangers for Musk, who was recently found liable by another jury for misleading investors during his $44 billion Twitter acquisition in 2022. Any harmful revelations about Musk’s business methods could prove especially damaging as his aerospace company SpaceX prepares for a summer initial public offering that might make him the world’s first trillionaire.
Regardless of the outcome, the proceedings promise compelling drama featuring opposing testimony from two of technology’s most influential and controversial personalities — 54-year-old Musk and 41-year-old Altman.
“Part of this is about whether a jury believes the people who will testify and whether they are credible,” Gonzalez Rogers explained during an earlier court session while justifying why the case deserved a trial. The judge will render the final verdict, with the jury providing advisory input.
Musk, whose wealth totals roughly $780 billion, has earned recognition as an innovator for his roles developing digital payment pioneer PayPal, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, and aerospace company SpaceX. However, he has also faced criticism for his social media posts, unfulfilled Tesla autonomous driving promises, and his cost-cutting position in President Donald Trump’s recent administration.
Some of Musk’s unpredictable conduct has been linked to claims of psychedelic drug use, though Gonzalez Rogers ruled that ketamine use cannot be discussed during the trial. The judge will permit questions about Musk’s participation in Nevada’s 2017 Burning Man festival, an unconventional event associated with widespread drug consumption. The court will also allow inquiries about Musk’s relationship with former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis, who is the mother of several of his children.
Altman, who currently possesses approximately $3 billion in wealth, remained relatively unknown until ChatGPT’s debut in late 2022. The technological surge sparked by that conversational AI tool has led some observers to compare Altman to J. Robert Oppenheimer, the 20th-century nuclear weapons developer.
While Altman initially received praise as an innovator, he now faces criticism due to concerns about AI’s potential risks. This month, the New Yorker magazine published an article portraying him as an unethical leader. Shortly afterward, authorities arrested a 20-year-old man on attempted murder charges for hurling a Molotov cocktail at Altman’s San Francisco residence, apparently motivated by fears about AI’s impact on society.
The contrasting testimonies from Altman and Musk are anticipated to reveal insights into the reasoning behind the AI competition and the deterioration of their friendship. Their alliance began in 2015 when they committed to developing AI more responsibly and safely than profit-focused companies led by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, according to pre-trial evidence.
The bitter breakdown between the two entrepreneurs was documented in a February 2023 email conversation that emerged during pre-trial proceedings.
After telling Musk “you’re my hero,” Altman wrote: “I am tremendously thankful for everything you’ve done to help —I don’t think OpenAI would have happened without you — and it really (expletive) hurts when you publicly attack OpenAI.”
Musk replied: “I hear you and it is certainly not my intention to be hurtful, for which I apologize, but the fate of civilization is at stake.”
