OpenAI president and cofounder Greg Brockman testified Tuesday about moments of tension when OpenAI board members denied Elon Musk’s attempt to obtain a 62.5% majority control in OpenAI in 2017, saying of the world’s wealthiest person: “I thought he was going to hit me. I truly thought he was going to physically attack me.”
Elon Musk arrives at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Brockman took the stand for his second day of testimony, being questioned by OpenAI counsel Tuesday following a first day of questioning from Musk’s lawyer.
Brockman testified Musk denied the board’s proposal to grant him less than 50% of the equity in the planned for-profit, wanted four of seven board seats and, by the end of negotiations, insisted on being CEO.
Asked whether Musk ever tied his demand for control to OpenAI's mission, Brockman replied that he didn’t, testifying that Musk instead said "people needed to know he was in charge” and he "needed $80 billion dollars to create a city" on Mars.
