Musk Accuses OpenAI of 'Stealing' Nonprofit Mission in High-Stakes Federal Trial

Elon Musk spent three days on the witness stand in Oakland, California, centering his argument on the claim that OpenAI's leadership effectively 'stole' a charity. Musk, an early donor and co-founder, alleges that the organization pivoted from its nonprofit roots to a commercial powerhouse without authorization, violating the promises made to its initial supporters. The lawsuit, filed two years ago, targets CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. Musk claims his initial $38 million contribution was diverted toward unauthorized commercial ends. OpenAI, which is now valued at over $850 billion by private investors, has dismissed these allegations as baseless. During his testimony, Musk highlighted the tension between OpenAI's nonprofit mission and the for-profit subsidiary created in 2018. He argued that the commercial arm now dominates the organization, describing the current structure as 'the tail wagging the dog.' He further accused Altman and Brockman of enriching themselves while maintaining the prestige of a nonprofit association. The trial also touched upon Musk's own AI venture, xAI, which he valued at $250 billion during its merger with SpaceX in February. Under cross-examination, Musk admitted that xAI utilized 'distilling'—the process of using OpenAI's technology to train its own models—though he defended the move as a standard industry practice for validating AI. The plaintiff is seeking up to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, the latter of which is named as a defendant due to its $10 billion equity investment. Proceedings are set to resume next week, with Altman and Brockman expected to testify later this month.