Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of SpaceX, has taken the witness stand to testify in a federal trial over his lawsuit against OpenAI, the AI firm co-founded by Sam Altman. The high-profile case was held in Oakland, California, on April 28, and pits Musk against Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman. Musk’s lawsuit alleges that OpenAI had betrayed its original nonprofit mission by shifting to a for-profit model.
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Musk Claims OpenAI Betrayed Him and the Public
Musk testified that OpenAI betrayed both him and the public by walking away from the firm’s original mission. He said he came up with the idea for OpenAI, coined its name, recruited key people, and put in about $38 million—all on the condition that it stayed a nonprofit. His claims also include breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.
On top of that, he warned that the case sets a grave precedent for charity in the U.S. His lawyer, Steven Molo, backed that up, telling jurors that OpenAI’s defendants were the ones driven by greed. Furthermore, Molo cited a $10 billion investment by Microsoft (MSFT) in January 2023 as proof that OpenAI had strayed from its founding mission.
As a result, Musk is now seeking up to $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, with the proceeds to be transferred to OpenAI’s charity arm. He also wants OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit, with Altman and Brockman removed from their roles. Meanwhile, Musk is set to continue his testimony on Wednesday.
OpenAI Fires Back, Says Musk Just Didn’t Get His Way
OpenAI’s lawyer, William Savitt, told jurors in his opening statement that Musk was the one who pushed for a for-profit structure, wanting full CEO control of the firm. He added that Musk sued only after things did not go his way.
Additionally, Savitt argued that the 2019 shift to a for-profit model was necessary to compete with Google’s (GOOGL) DeepMind AI lab and retain top scientists. On top of that, OpenAI pushed back against Musk’s charity label, citing its own 2015 founding post, which described it as a nonprofit AI research firm rather than a charity.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a warning to Musk before testimony began. She cautioned him over his X posts on Monday, referring to Altman as “Scam Altman,” and urged him to stop fighting the case on social media.
At the same time, Microsoft’s lawyer Russell Cohen defended OpenAI, saying the firm had been a reliable partner all through their relationship. Following Musk’s testimony, Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella are both expected to take the stand.
What are the Best AI Stocks to Invest in?
OpenAI remains a private company with no publicly traded stock. However, reports indicate the firm could target an initial public offering in Q4 2026 at a potential valuation of $1 trillion. So, investors seeking to explore AI stocks can consider companies such as Nvidia (NVDA), Micron (MU), Google (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META), and Microsoft (MSFT). Wall Street analysts tracked by the TipRanks’ Stock Comparison Center rate all five stocks as Strong Buys, with notable upside from their current prices.
