Elon Musk Travels to Beijing with Trump During OpenAI Trial

Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on Wednesday as his $150 billion civil lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unfolded in a California courtroom.

Whether Musk, the world's richest man, should have traveled abroad during the trial could arise in court. At the end of Musk's testimony in late April, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of San Francisco told him he remained subject to recall. That means attorneys for OpenAI could bring him back to the stand.

"Mr. Musk, you are not excused, but you can leave for the day. Okay?" Rogers said to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and X owner, according to a transcript of his testimony.

The trial takes place in civil court. Musk, both a party to the case and a witness, did not have to attend in person for the entire proceeding. The judge did not explicitly order him to stay near the courthouse or bar him from traveling.

Musk boarded Air Force One on Tuesday and flew overnight to China. He joined several other business leaders invited to Beijing with President Trump, who is meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.

Testimony in the OpenAI trial wrapped up Wednesday, with closing arguments set for Thursday. Musk will almost certainly miss both.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News.

Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman co-founded the company as a nonprofit in 2015. Musk later left and now sues Altman, claiming he abandoned the nonprofit's original mission in favor of profits. Musk wants Altman removed from the board, the company returned to nonprofit status, and millions transferred to OpenAI's charity arm.

OpenAI argues Musk aims to promote his own company, xAI.