Elon Musk gets combative on the stand during Day 2 of jury trial against OpenAI

Key Points:

• Elon Musk testified in a lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, accusing Altman of betraying the public by turning their originally nonprofit AI company into a for-profit venture that enriched its leaders.
• Musk clashed with OpenAI’s lawyer during cross-examination, disputing claims that he was never committed to OpenAI being a nonprofit and confirming he did not fulfill his $1 billion funding promise, contributing only $38 million instead.
• The trial highlighted Musk’s frustration over losing control of OpenAI, which restructured from a capped-profit model to a traditional for-profit company raising $122 billion, and his motivation for founding his own for-profit AI company, xAI.
• Musk seeks approximately $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging they benefited from his early contributions, while OpenAI counters that Musk quit after disagreements over control and direction.
• The courtroom exchanges were heated, with the judge urging calm as Musk defended his use of strong language with employees and described himself as having unintentionally provided free funding for a startup he intended to remain a nonprofit.