The OpenAI chief rejects claims he deceived Elon Musk as high-stakes AI trial nears its end
The OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, took the stand on Tuesday to defend himself and his company against a lawsuit by Elon Musk. Altman is set to be one of the final witnesses in the trial, which has pitted two of the tech industry’s most powerful men against each other in a dramatic courtroom showdown.
Musk has accused Altman and OpenAI of breaking the AI firm’s founding agreement by restructuring it into a for-profit enterprise, alleging that Altman essentially swindled him into co-founding the company and providing tens of millions in financial backing. Musk also claims Altman unjustly enriched himself in the process and is seeking the CEO’s removal from OpenAI, the redistribution of $134bn to the firm’s non-profit and the undoing of its for-profit conversion.
OpenAI and Altman have rejected all of Musk’s claims, arguing that he is motivated by jealousy after a failed bid to take over the AI firm in 2018 and a subsequent departure from its board. They argue that Musk was also always aware of plans to create a for-profit structure and that OpenAI’s non-profit still oversees the for-profit business.
Altman’s testimony is one of the marquee moments of the three-week long trial, which has featured some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, including Musk and Microsoft’s CEO. The outcome of the case is hugely important for OpenAI, which is seeking to go public at around a $1tn valuation later this year. In the bitter feud between Musk and Altman, the reputational stakes are winner-takes-all.
