Sam Altman testifies in landmark OpenAI trial, says Musk wanted control of company
OpenAI Group PBC co-founder and Chief Executive Sam Altman faced the witness stand today in the high-stakes trial that could determine the future of the company. Elon Musk is suing the company and its leaders, alleging that Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman betrayed the founding mission to serve humanity by turning a nonprofit into […] The post Sam Altman testifies in landmark OpenAI trial, says Musk wanted control of company appeared first on SiliconANGLE.
Key Takeaways
- SiliconANGLE UPDATED 22:32 EDT / MAY 12 2026 AI Sam Altman testifies in landmark OpenAI trial, says Musk wanted control of company by James Farrell SHARE OpenAI Group PBC co-founder and Chief Executive Sam Altman faced the witness stand today in the high-stakes trial that could determine the future of the company.
Elon Musk is suing the company and its leaders, alleging that Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman betrayed the founding mission to serve humanity by turning a nonprofit into a money-making venture.
- When asked by his lawyer if he'd stolen a charity, his reply was: "It feels difficult to even wrap my head around that framing.
Musk threw out was that he should have 90% of the equity to start," Altman went on.
- He explained, "For a research lab where people need psychological safety and long periods of time to pursue an idea, this idea that you constantly have to show your results, and if they're not good enough for a short period of time, you're gonna get fired, that really didn't work for the kind of research we went on to successfully do.
" Altman claimed Musk resigned in 2018 because he'd lost faith that the company would ever be successful, saying in an email that it would never be "serious counterweight" to Google LLC's DeepMind AI research lab, evidence that was presented in court.
- " Molo also prodded Altman about his stakes in other ventures - that he owned about a third of the nuclear-energy startup Helion Energy Inc.
6 billion, a company that is to provide electricity in the future to power OpenAI's data centers.
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Stats & Key Facts
- #Musk wants Altman replaced as CEO, and up to $180 billion in damages to be paid to from the nonprofit arm of OpenAI to come from the for-profit arm.
- #Musk threw out was that he should have 90% of the equity to start," Altman went on.
- #6 billion, a company that is to provide electricity in the future to power OpenAI's data centers.
SiliconANGLE UPDATED 22:32 EDT / MAY 12 2026 AI Sam Altman testifies in landmark OpenAI trial, says Musk wanted control of company by James Farrell SHARE OpenAI Group PBC co-founder and Chief Executive Sam Altman faced the witness stand today in the high-stakes trial that could determine the future of the company. Elon Musk is suing the company and its leaders, alleging that Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman betrayed the founding mission to serve humanity by turning a nonprofit into a money-making venture. Musk wants Altman replaced as CEO, and up to $180 billion in damages to be paid to from the nonprofit arm of OpenAI to come from the for-profit arm.
OpenAI has hit back, saying Musk seeks revenge in a market where he has become a competitor with his company, xAI Corp. In his testimony today, Altman outright denied that Musk ever opposed turning OpenAI into a for-profit company. "Quite the opposite," Altman said.
When asked by his lawyer if he'd stolen a charity, his reply was: "It feels difficult to even wrap my head around that framing. Musk threw out was that he should have 90% of the equity to start," Altman went on. "It then softened, but it always was a majority.
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