OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman on Tuesday rejected Elon Musk’s claim that he betrayed the ChatGPT creator’s founding mission to serve the public good, and said it was Musk who wanted to take control of OpenAI and make money from it.
In a lawsuit filed in August 2024, Musk accused Altman and OpenAI of persuading him to donate $38 million, only to see the nonprofit abandon its mission to benefit humanity and become a for-profit corporation.
The trial, now in its third week, could determine the future of OpenAI and its leadership as it prepares for a possible IPO that could value the company at $1 trillion.
Testifying in federal court in Oakland, California, Altman denied Musk’s claim that he and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, who is also accused, tried to “steal from a charity.”
Altman said “it seems difficult for me to even understand this framework” and that he hopes that “as OpenAI continues to do well, the nonprofit will do even better.”
Musk, the world’s richest person, is seeking about $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, a major investor, to be paid to nonprofit OpenAI.
He testified at the start of the trial, saying: “If you have someone who is not trustworthy in charge of AI, I think that is a very big danger to the whole world. » Musk also wants Altman and Brockman removed from office.
Altman balked at Musk’s bid for majority control
OpenAI was co-founded in 2015 by several entrepreneurs, including Musk and Altman.
The company has tried to show that Musk knew about the for-profit project before he left its board in 2018, but wanted control of the company and is now suing because he regrets missing out on potential riches. OpenAI created a for-profit entity in March 2019.
When asked if Musk opposed the for-profit plan, Altman said “quite the contrary.”
He recalled that Musk had once demanded a 90% stake in OpenAI and, despite later softening his stance, had always sought majority control, an idea Altman was “extremely uncomfortable” with.
“I’ve had a lot of experience with startups and witnessed a lot of struggles for control,” he said, citing Musk’s SpaceX as an example where founders of successful companies consolidated their power to ensure ongoing control.
Altman also said that while he and other OpenAI executives wanted to stay on Musk’s good side, he was hesitant about a merger with Tesla, Musk’s electric car company.
“I don’t think we would have had the capacity to ensure that (our) mission was carried out,” he said. “Fundamentally, Tesla has to serve its customers and sell cars.”
OpenAI president surprised by Musk’s takeover bid
The lawsuit marks a clash between the tech giants, with Musk portraying himself as a defender of ordinary people against the perils of AI and Silicon Valley titans who care more about money.
This came after OpenAI raised hundreds of billions of dollars from major tech companies and investors to boost its computing power, ahead of a possible IPO.
Altman said Musk’s departure sparked mixed feelings within OpenAI. He said some feared it would make funding more difficult, while others were relieved to be free of Musk’s insistence that researchers regularly defend their work and progress.
“I don’t think Mr. Musk has figured out how to run a good research lab,” Altman said. “He had demotivated some of our most important researchers.”
Bret Taylor, president of OpenAI, said Tuesday that OpenAI received a formal buyout offer from a consortium led by Musk’s rival company xAI in February 2025, six months after Musk filed the lawsuit.
“I was surprised,” Taylor said. “This proposal sought to acquire this nonprofit organization by a group of for-profit investors, which seemed inconsistent with the spirit of the lawsuit.”
Motivations and insurance are debated
Trial testimony before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers could conclude this week.
Jurors could begin deliberating whether the defendants are liable by May 18. Rogers would determine possible recourse.
Former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever said Monday that he spent about a year gathering evidence for OpenAI directors that Altman demonstrated a “consistent tendency to lie.”
Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella, whose company is a major investor in OpenAI, said Monday that the investment was a “calculated risk.”
Others who testified included Brockman, former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, and Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member who is also the mother of four of Musk’s children.
