Musk Takes the Stand in $150 Billion OpenAI Trial

The trial that could reshape the future of AI’s biggest company is underway. Elon Musk took the witness stand for a second day on Tuesday in a federal courtroom in Oakland, California, facing off against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in what many are calling the AI trial of the century.

What’s Happening

Musk co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015, contributing roughly $50 million in early funding. He left the board in 2018. Now he’s suing, alleging that Altman and president Greg Brockman broke a founding agreement to keep OpenAI a nonprofit research lab. Instead, they converted it into a capped-profit company — one now valued at over $300 billion.

“Without me, OpenAI wouldn’t exist,” Musk testified on Monday. He called himself “a fool” for providing the funding that got the company off the ground. His legal team described the restructuring as the “looting of a charity.”

OpenAI’s attorneys pushed back hard, arguing that Musk’s real motivation is competitive — he founded his own AI company, xAI, and wants to hamstring a rival. Cross-examination on Tuesday turned heated, with Musk accusing OpenAI’s lawyer of asking “definitionally complex” questions disguised as simple ones.

What Musk Wants

The demands are sweeping: $150 billion in damages paid to OpenAI’s charitable arm, the removal of Altman and Brockman from leadership, and a court order forcing OpenAI back to its original nonprofit structure. A nine-person advisory jury is hearing the case, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers expected to issue a final ruling by mid-May.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just a personal grudge match. The outcome could force structural changes at the company behind ChatGPT and GPT-5.5, potentially disrupting its path to a planned IPO. It also raises a fundamental question about AI governance: can the world’s most powerful AI tools be built inside a profit-driven company, or should they remain under nonprofit oversight?

What This Means for You

If you use ChatGPT or build on OpenAI’s API, nothing changes today. The products work the same. But if Musk prevails, the ripple effects could be significant — from how OpenAI is structured to how it prices its products and who controls its direction.

The trial is expected to run two to three weeks. We’ll continue tracking key developments. For daily AI updates, join our newsletter or explore our latest tutorials.