Elon Musk testified Tuesday he’s suing OpenAI and two of its co-founders — Sam Altman and Greg Brockman — because the startup’s pivot from a charity to a for-profit business is wrong and sets a concerning precedent for other philanthropic efforts.
“It is not okay to steal a charity, that’s my view,” Musk told jurors at the outset of a trial in federal court in Oakland, California.
The closely watched trial is the culmination of years of animosity and public feuding over the startup the three men worked together to found in 2015, before their relationship soured and they became rivals.
Musk said the consequences of the legal fight go far beyond the people involved, and that if Altman and Brockman’s conduct isn’t deemed improper, “this case will become case law and become precedent to looting every charity in America.”
An attorney for OpenAI, William Savitt, objected to Musk’s explanation, asking US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to strike the testimony because Musk isn’t a lawyer who can provide legal analysis. Gonzalez Rogers denied the request.
In his own statement to the jury, Savitt argued that Musk’s lawsuit is primarily an attempt to undermine a top competitor to his own AI company, xAI. Savitt also contended that Musk himself was a proponent of restructuring OpenAI as a for-profit entity in its early years.
The outcome of the three-week trial could shape OpenAI’s future as it eyes a much-anticipated public offering that is poised to be one of the largest in history as the company approaches a trillion-dollar valuation. Among the changes Musk seeks is a court order unwinding the for-profit restructuring of OpenAI that was completed in October. – moneyweb
