Elon Musk testifies in trial against OpenAI leadership over company structure and mission

Elon Musk testified as the first witness in a jury trial he initiated against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and company president Greg Brockman in a California federal courtroom. The lawsuit names both individuals alongside Microsoft and OpenAI as defendants, and Musk has sought the removal of Altman and Brockman from their leadership roles and authority over company finances.

Musk was part of OpenAI's founding team and contributed up to $38 million in early funding. The co-founders' relationship deteriorated over fundamental disagreements concerning the company's structure and mission orientation, including a proposal to fold OpenAI into Musk's Tesla organization. Musk subsequently left the organization and founded xAI, which operates as a direct competitor now structured under his SpaceX umbrella.

The core allegation in the suit contends that OpenAI abandoned its stated mission to develop artificial general intelligence that benefits humanity broadly. The legal claims include allegations of fraud, unjust enrichment, and violation of OpenAI's original charitable trust designation. Musk is seeking judicial intervention to reverse the company's for-profit restructuring and strip the defendants of the financial benefits derived from what he characterizes as unlawful for-profit conversion.

The trial is expected to feature testimony from several prominent industry figures. Announced witnesses include Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; Kevin Scott, Microsoft's chief technology officer; and Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI who has since founded Thinking Machines Lab, her own AI venture. This marks the only one of at least four lawsuits Musk has filed against OpenAI that has advanced to jury trial.