Five Key Revelations from Musk-Altman OpenAI Trial

A federal court trial in California pitted Elon Musk against Sam Altman in a dispute over OpenAI, the ChatGPT developer that Musk helped found. Musk accused Altman of stealing a charity and cheating him out of equity. Altman denied the charge. The jury has retired to deliberate, but Judge Gonzalez Rogers will take its decision under advisement and rule on the outcome.

Reporters followed the three-week case, which featured text messages and claims of free Teslas offered for influence. Here are five main takeaways.

First, the trial went beyond Musk versus Altman. Musk claimed Altman lied about keeping OpenAI nonprofit. Witnesses including OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, former board member Tasha McCauley, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified they saw no evidence of such a commitment from Musk. Nadella said Microsoft did due diligence before investing billions. Microsoft faces accusations from Musk of aiding Altman.

Second, Altman's character faced heavy questioning. A New Yorker profile by Ronan Farrow called him a pathological liar, citing his 2023 ouster from OpenAI. Musk's lawyer Steven Molo asked Altman on cross-examination, "Are you completely trustworthy?" Altman replied, "I believe so." When pressed, he changed it to "yes." Former OpenAI board members and executives described Altman as less than forthright, some via video depositions. His investments included a stake worth more than $1.5 billion in Helion Energy, a nuclear startup with a power deal involving OpenAI. Altman served as Helion chairman until recently.

Third, Judge Gonzalez Rogers ran a tight ship. She allowed only two 20-minute breaks daily, skipping lunch to keep everyone alert. She scolded photographers in the courthouse and lawyers straying into barred topics. Early audio problems drew her dry remark: "What can I tell you? We are funded by the federal government." Sketch artist Vicki Behringer illustrated the non-televised proceedings in watercolor.

Fourth, personal matters surfaced at OpenAI. Musk once admired Altman, but their ties soured. Musk grew uneasy testifying about Shivon Zilis, a Neuralink executive and mother of four of his children. Zilis said Musk offered her sperm while she served on OpenAI's board, noticing she had no kids. She did not tell colleagues until media reports loomed. Her texts showed a close advisory role to Musk, whom she called an "Elon whisperer." She quit the board after Musk launched rival xAI, writing to a friend, "When the father of your babies starts a competitive effort and will recruit out of OpenAI, there is nothing to be done."

Fifth, texts and offers exposed big tech influence. Altman sent frantic messages after his 2023 firing, asking a colleague, "still don't want me?" She replied that Twitch CEO Emmett Shear, a "rando Twitch guy," would replace him. The exchanges humanized the executives, who sipped lattes near court but control tech affecting billions in a fight worth billions.