- Elon Musk took the stand in his lawsuit against OpenAI
- Musk claims non-profit’s move was illegal
- Trial verdict could have implications for the future of AI
Elon Musk is suing ChatGPT developer OpenAI over its shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit company, and Musk took the stand to argue his case before a jury in Oakland, California.
“I think they’re going to try to make this trial very complicated, but it’s actually very simple,” Musk said as soon as he was given the opportunity to speak (via the Wall Street Journal). “It’s not right to steal from a charity.”
In other comments, Musk said that if the lawsuit were to be decided in favor of OpenAI, it would mean the possibility of “losing every charity in America.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was also present in the courtroom, but has not yet spoken.
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U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez took some of the wind out of Musk, who told jurors that the SpaceX and
“No Elon Musk, no OpenAI”
They stole from a non-profit organization. It’s not good. pic.twitter.com/pRDR463UShApril 27, 2026
The dispute at the center of the lawsuit dates back to the early days of OpenAI. Musk invested a total of $38 million when OpenAI was in its non-profit phase and had a mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity. The company has since become a more traditional for-profit business, with less lofty goals.
OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman say Musk was keenly aware that change would eventually come and that change was necessary to compete in a rapidly evolving, billion-dollar AI industry.
“Without Elon Musk, there would be no OpenAI,” Steven Molo, Elon Musk’s lead attorney, said in opening statements in the case. Musk has since created his own company xAI, which includes the Grok chatbot and is now part of SpaceX.
As the case continues, we can expect to hear about confidential high-level discussions between OpenAI executives. The case could have significant ramifications for the future of AI companies and how they are regulated by law – and could lead to stricter security protections within bots like ChatGPT.
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