Musk v. Altman trial week 2: OpenAI fights back as poaching claims surface

Musk v. Altman trial: OpenAI’s rebuttal and new poaching revelations

In the second week of the high‑stakes lawsuit, OpenAI’s president Greg Brockman took the stand to contradict Elon Musk’s claim that he was duped into a ↓ $38 million charitable contribution.

Musk alleges that Sam Altman and Brockman misrepresented the nonprofit charter, only to later invite billions from Microsoft and re‑brand the entity as a for‑profit subsidiary.

“We never promised a perpetual nonprofit,” Musk said under oath.

Brockman argued the opposite, saying Musk himself pushed for a profit arm and demanded “absolute control” over any future AGI venture.

Meanwhile, former board member Shivon Zilis testified that Musk tried to lure Altman into a Tesla‑based AI lab, a plan that fizzled after internal emails surfaced.

The lawsuit seeks a staggering ↑ $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and its backer Microsoft, a figure that could reshape the pending IPO valued near $1 trillion.

Analysts from Reuters and Bloomberg warn that the verdict may alter the trajectory of the AI market and even impact related nuclear tech investments.

Closing arguments are slated for next week, with Ilya Sutskever and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expected to testify.