Elon Musk Testifies in OpenAI Lawsuit on Nonprofit Shift

Elon Musk concluded his testimony on Thursday in a federal trial in Oakland, California, where he is suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company abandoned its nonprofit mission to develop AI for humanity's benefit in favor of a for-profit structure.

According to Musk's statements under oath, he donated approximately $38 million to OpenAI based on assurances it would prioritize public good over commercial interests. Court filings indicate Musk is seeking billions in damages and an order for Altman to relinquish control of the for-profit entity.

The trial, which began with jury selection on Monday, features evidence including private emails, text messages, and diary entries from OpenAI's founding period.

During cross-examination, OpenAI attorney William Savitt questioned Musk, leading to exchanges described in multiple reports. Musk accused Savitt of attempting to "trick" him, as reported by BBC News based on courtroom proceedings. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers interrupted Musk several times, instructing him to provide direct answers and limiting discussions of hypothetical AI risks.

" Musk referenced the film "The Terminator" in his responses, which elicited laughter from some courtroom attendees. When asked about legal matters, Musk mentioned having taken a Law 101 course but deferred to the judge's authority.

Testimony revealed communications involving Shivon Zilis, identified in trial evidence as an intermediary between Musk and OpenAI during its early days. Zilis, who shares children with Musk and previously served as his chief of staff, was mentioned in messages presented in court, according to Wired's review of the exhibits.

Musk acknowledged under questioning that his company xAI employed a process known as distilling to generate synthetic data from OpenAI models, as detailed in Semafor's reporting on his admissions. The practice has been noted in industry discussions, though no specific condemnations from named experts appear in the available sources.

The lawsuit centers on Musk's claim, outlined in court documents, that OpenAI's transition to a for-profit model breached agreements from its 2015 founding as a nonprofit. Sam Altman attended parts of the testimony and is expected to take the stand later in the three-week trial.

Other tech industry witnesses are scheduled to testify on the dispute's origins. Protests occurred outside the courthouse, with demonstrators in robot costumes carrying signs critical of AI development and Musk; inflatable figures were present, and security measures included police vehicles and strict entry protocols.

No public statements from OpenAI on the protests are documented in the sources. The case is ongoing, with potential implications for AI governance structures noted in analyses from The New York Times and Bloomberg.