- Elon Musk has taken the stand in his lawsuit against OpenAI
- Musk claims nonprofit move was illegal
- The trial verdict could have implications for the future of AI
Elon Musk is taking ChatGPT developer OpenAI to court over its switch from a nonprofit to a for-profit company, and Musk took the stand to plead his case before a jury in Oakland, California.
“I think they’re going to try to make this lawsuit very complicated, but it’s actually very simple,” Musk said as soon as he had the chance to speak (via The Wall Street Journal). “It’s not okay to steal from a charity.”
In other comments, Musk said that if the lawsuit were decided in favor of OpenAI, it would mean the possibility of “losing every charity in the United States.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was also in the courtroom, but has not yet taken the stand.
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U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez took some of the wind out of Musk’s way when she told jurors that the SpaceX and X CEO was giving his personal perspective on the debate, and that his opinion had “no legal value.”
‘No Elon Musk, no OpenAI’
A non-profit organization was robbed. It’s not good. pic.twitter.com/pRDR463UShApril 27, 2026
The dispute at the center of the trial dates back to the early days of OpenAI. Musk invested a total of $38 million when OpenAI was in its non-profit stage and had a mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity. The company has since become a more traditional for-profit company, with goals that are not so noble.
OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman say Musk was fully aware that the pivot would eventually come and that the change was necessary to compete effectively in a rapidly advancing, multibillion-dollar AI industry.
“Without Elon Musk, there would be no OpenAI,” Steven Molo, Musk’s lead attorney, said in opening statements in the case. Musk has since started his own company xAI, which includes the Grok chatbot and is now part of SpaceX.
As the case continues, we can expect to hear about some confidential high-level discussions between OpenAI executives. The case could have significant ramifications for the future of AI companies and the way they are regulated by law, and may lead to stricter security protections within bots like ChatGPT.
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