Musk’s Case Against OpenAI: A Week of Testimony
May 2, 2026 – 7:38 am
Three days of cross-examination in Oakland brought to light some awkward admissions in Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI. He claimed he founded the company in 2015 to prevent advanced AI from falling into the hands of a single corporation, after which Sam Altman and Greg Brockman allegedly transformed it into a for-profit empire with Microsoft’s billions while excluding him.
Key Takeaways:
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Musk’s Story Challenged: Musk’s narrative, presented for two years, faced significant scrutiny during his testimony.
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Judge, Not Jury, Decides: While a jury was seated, their verdict is only advisory with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ultimately deciding on liability and remedy. She has already dismissed fraud claims pre-trial.
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Case Narrowing: Pre-trial rulings limited the legal claims, making Musk’s chances of winning seem less favorable than initially thought.
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Long Public Deposition: The trial serves as a public deposition for the judge, who will issue her ruling by mid-May.
Testimony Details:
Musk testified over three days, first under his own counsel and then under intense cross-examination from OpenAI’s lead lawyer, William Savitt.
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A key dispute centered around Musk’s alleged push to convert OpenAI to a for-profit in 2017 and 2018, contradicting his claim of commitment to keeping it nonprofit.
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Musk acknowledged that xAI trains on OpenAI’s models.
This trial is closely watched as it could have significant implications for the future of AI development and ownership.