OpenAI CEO Sam Altman faced two days of intense courtroom scrutiny in a California federal court as Elon Musk’s legal team pressed its case that OpenAI’s shift to a for-profit structure betrayed its founding mission to develop AI safely for humanity’s benefit.
Altman rejected the characterisation that OpenAI’s founders had misappropriated a charitable organisation, arguing instead that they had built one of the world’s most significant foundations and that commercial growth had not compromised the company’s safety commitments. He testified that it was Musk himself who had raised alarm during internal debates in 2017, with remarks suggesting that control of a for-profit OpenAI might one day pass to his children — a position Altman said cut against the organisation’s core principle of keeping advanced AI out of any single person’s hands. He also described Musk’s management style as damaging to OpenAI’s research culture, alleging it demoralised key staff including co-founders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever.
Musk’s lead attorney Steve Molo challenged Altman’s credibility directly, citing his 2023 congressional testimony — in which Altman stated he held no equity in OpenAI without disclosing indirect economic exposure through a Y Combinator fund — alongside prior accusations of dishonesty from former board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley, who described a culture of misleading conduct.
The 2023 episode in which the board briefly dismissed Altman before reinstating him proved central to proceedings. Board chair Bret Taylor acknowledged the rehiring was effectively compelled by the risk of a mass employee exodus. Dr. Zico Kolter, the board’s AI safety lead, testified that no one had interfered with safety work since his appointment in 2024. The trial’s core question — whether OpenAI’s non-profit board retains meaningful control over one of the world’s most powerful AI companies — remains unresolved.
