OAKLAND, Calif. – Jurors on Monday handed Elon Musk a historic lawsuit over the future of OpenAI – holding the intelligence giant innocent of the world’s richest man’s alleged abandonment of his mission to benefit humanity.
In the same decision that was reached just a few hours after the start of the negotiations, the nine members, the judge said that Musk brought his case too late.
The decision capped three weeks of court proceedings that captivated Silicon Valley and beyond and brought out the biggest names in technology. Along with Altman, Brockman and Musk, the trial featured Musk’s mentor and romantic partner Shivon Zillis, OpenAI founder Ilya Sutskever and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The decision avoids a possible shake-up of the AI landscape at a critical time. Musk is planning a public offering for SpaceX, which is tied to his AI startup. OpenAI, meanwhile, is also racing toward an IPO, which may be affected by the repeal of its for-profit structure, which Musk sought in his suit.
Musk — who donated $38 million to OpenAI years before he launched his flagship artificial intelligence project, xAI — sought $150 billion in damages and a court order freeing OpenAI’s for-profit status.
Musk’s lawsuit, which alleges Brockman, Altman and OpenAI violated the company’s philanthropic mission when it launched the for-profit organization and raised billions to help it grow into the juggernaut it is today. The lawsuit also accused Microsoft of aiding and abetting the scheme by investing $13 billion in OpenAI’s for-profit arm.
In his testimony during the first week of the trial, Musk said “This case is very simple: It is NOT OK to steal from a charity.” Musk repeated versions of the phrase throughout his time on the witness stand.
Musk also once texted Altman after news of another Microsoft investment in OpenAI became public, calling the deal a “bait and switch.”
Altman and the other defendants allege throughout the lawsuit that Musk was well aware of and supported OpenAI’s efforts to make a profit. Altman’s attorneys provided testimony that appeared to show Musk admitting that a business that could raise equity-style financing to trade equity was the only way they could afford huge amounts of computing power to compete with the likes of Google.
OpenAI President Greg Brockman described a 2017 meeting at Musk’s mansion where he and other OpenAI executives including Altman, Murati and Zilis showed up and “it was clear there had been a party the night before,” complete with “confetti and cups.”
Whiskey was served, Brockman testified, and the OpenAI team discussed the business of profit and the conversation was “honorable.”
A lawyer who represents major tech companies but is not involved in the OpenAI suit said he believes Musk’s case was strengthened throughout the case. He specifically mentioned Altman’s time on the stand being hammered by Musk’s lawyer about whether he was honest.
“Musk is more to blame here than previously thought,” said the expert, who attended most of the hearings. “The first 15 minutes of Altman’s interrogation were excruciating.”
Altman’s credibility was central to Musk’s case. Musk’s legal team relied heavily on testimony from key OpenAI figures — including former board members Tasha McCauley and Helen Toner and former chief technology officer Mira Murati — who said Altman was not always telling the truth.
“My concern was that Sam said one thing to one person and completely different to another person,” Murati said in taped testimony played in a packed courtroom in Oakland, Calif.
Musk’s lawyer, Steven Molo, was trying to reinforce this point when he spoke to the judges in his closing arguments last week: “Imagine you are walking, and you come across one of those wooden bridges that you see on the road and over the ravine,” Molo said inside the court.
“There’s a river 100 meters below and it looks a little scary, but a woman standing near the entrance to the bridge says, ‘Don’t worry, the bridge is made of a real version of Sam Altman.’
“Can you cross that bridge?
Altman addressed Musk’s “I steal from charities” line in his testimony last week, “It feels hard to wrap my head around that frame.”
