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Shivon Zilis Testifies She Prioritized 'AI for Humanity' in Musk vs. OpenAI Trial
Zilis, a former OpenAI board member and mother of four of Elon Musk's children, described their relationship evolving from a platonic sperm donation to a romantic partnership. She denied funneling information to Musk and said her board decisions were unaffected. The testimony came in Musk's suit alleging OpenAI leaders enriched themselves from a charitable mission.
May 6, 10:00 PM·2m read1 source
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Shivon Zilis took the witness stand Wednesday in federal court in Oakland, California, on the sixth day of a trial pitting Elon Musk against two of his OpenAI co-founders. Zilis, who worked at OpenAI beginning in 2016 and served on its board of directors for several years, left the board in 2023. She has also worked at Neuralink and at Tesla, where Musk is CEO.
Musk is suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. He alleges that they are enriching themselves from what he says was supposed to remain a charitable endeavor. Zilis operated as a kind of bridge between Musk and OpenAI’s other co-founders even after they had fallen out.
Zilis testified that her relationship with Musk began with a one-off at a corporate off-site event. After she decided to have children as a single mother, Musk offered to make a donation as a platonic sperm donor. She testified that she and Musk now have a romantic partnership.
She said their relationship did not affect her decisions as an OpenAI board member. “I had an allegiance to the best outcome, AI for humanity,” Zilis testified. Asked by a Musk lawyer whether it was her job to funnel information to Elon, she responded, “Funnel?
Zilis sent a message to Musk saying the “trust game is about to get tricky” regarding her interactions with other OpenAI board members. Zilis testified that back in 2017 the OpenAI co-founders were going through a weird half-breakup. At an earlier stage in the lawsuit in 2024, Zilis was a plaintiff alongside Musk.
She dropped out of the case as a plaintiff last year. Brockman testified Tuesday that he and Zilis had been friends at least since 2013. Brockman testified that Zilis told him in 2021 about being pregnant with twins but did not tell him who the father was.
