Elon Musk testified in the first hearing of his lawsuit against OpenAI, revealing that he was the founder of the name and laid all the groundwork, but was betrayed by Sam Altman and others who turned the nonprofit into a multi-billion-dollar profit machine.
Elon Musk, the world's richest billionaire, testified in court in his lawsuit against OpenAI, including CEO Sam Altman and company president Greg Brockman, stating that this is a fight to protect the foundations of charitable donations in America.
Musk told the jury that OpenAI was the result of his own idea. “I came up with the idea, the company name, recruited key personnel, taught everything I knew, and provided all the initial funding,” he emphasized. Musk said he intended the organization to be nonprofit to oversee AI development for humanity’s benefit, not for any individual’s gain. He explained his reason for suing rather than letting it go: “If we allow anyone to steal a charitable organization, the foundation of charitable giving in America will collapse. That is what concerns me.”
Meanwhile, William Savitt, attorney for OpenAI and Altman, told the jury that Musk was actually the one who pushed OpenAI to become a for-profit business early on because he wanted returns. He claimed Musk is suing now simply because things did not go his way and because he wants the “keys to the kingdom,” but when he failed, he started his own company, xAI.
Additionally, OpenAI's lawyer insisted that the decision to become a for-profit company in 2019 was necessary to raise huge funds to buy computing power and recruit top scientists to compete with Google. In this lawsuit, Musk is demanding damages of up to $150 billion (about 4.88 trillion baht) from OpenAI and Microsoft, stating that all money will be returned to OpenAI's charitable sector. He also wants the court to order OpenAI to revert fully to nonprofit status and to remove Sam Altman and Greg Brockman from their executive roles and to expel Altman from the board.
Before the trial began, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers sharply reprimanded Musk for posting on platform X calling Sam Altman “Scam Altman.” The judge warned Musk to control his social media use to avoid attacking others outside court. Musk promised to reduce his social media activity during this period.
Musk revealed that concerns over AI safety were the main reason he founded OpenAI. He had discussed this with Google co-founder Larry Page and realized Google was not sufficiently focused on AI safety, prompting him to create an organization to serve as a counterbalance.
This case is not just about money but exposes the inner workings of some of the most influential figures in technology. It could also affect OpenAI’s plans for a public offering, which could be valued at up to $1 trillion in the future.
/sourceReuters