Elon Musk testifies he was a ‘fool’ to invest with ‘disingenuous’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in bombshell trial

“I was a fool who provided them free funding to create a startup,” Musk told a packed federal courtroom in Oakland, Calif,. on Wednesday. “I gave them $38 million of essentially free funding to create what would become an $800 billion company.”

Musk — who had leveled accusations from the stand a day earlier that Altman had broken a promise to build OpenAI as a charitable organization — sparred with OpenAI’s lawyer William Savitt during his cross examination on Wednesday.

OpenAI attorney William Savitt, AP

When he learned the news that OpenAI had raised $10 billion from Microsoft in 2023, Musk said it finally became clear to him that OpenAI had lost its way. He ripped Altman over what he called “disingenuous” reassurances that OpenAI would remain a nonprofit.

“I texted Sam Altman, ‘What the hell is going on? This is a bait and switch,’” Musk said.

Musk later went on to tell the courtoom that his view of OpenAI has gone through three different phases, with the first being “Enthusiastic support” for OpenAI and it’s mission, followed by “Growing skepticism” and finally “They’re looting a nonprofit.”

“We are currently in phase 3,” Musk said.

Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman were seen in the court room throughout Wednesday’s testimony, listening intently and occasionally passing notes.

Savitt, meanwhile, attempted to pin down Musk about his early involvement with OpenAI — making a case that he supported plans to establish and grow OpenAI’s for-profit entity. In response, Musk hit back at the attorney’s yes-or-no line of questioning.

Elon Musk sparred with OpenAI attorney William Savitt on Wednesday in court. REUTERS

“The classic reason you can’t ask yes or no questions – Have you stopped beating your wife?” Musk said.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is presiding over the trial, jumped in, saying, “No, we’re not going to go there” — eliciting titters from the courtroom.

Savitt also grilled Musk on atext exchangebetween Musk and then-board member Shivon Zilis just before Musk quit OpenAI’s board in 2018. Zilis, who has borne several of Musk’s children, asked him whether she should stay “close and friendly” with OpenAI to “keep info flowing.”

“Close and friendly,” Musk replied, according to court documents. “But we are going to actively try to move three or four people from OpenAl to Tesla.”

Confronted about the back-and-forth with Zilis, Musk deadpanned: “Well. I did want to know what was going on in OpenAI.”

Elon Musk in an Oakland federal court. AP

Slavitt hammered Musk on what he said were vague responses about discussions during OpenAI’s early years about creating for profit wing. “You don’t remember whether you were open to OpenAI having a for-profit venture in the summer of 2017,” Savitt said.

Rogers said to Musk: “It’s a yes or no question.”

Musk: “I don’t think that’s a yes or no question.”

A visibly flustered Musk ultimately said that yes, he did have a recollection of having discussions about it.

Savitt also displayed an email where Musk invited people to a party in a “haunted mansion” that Musk had recently bought in or around San Francisco. “OpenAI should start moving toward a for profit immediately,” a party attendee said Musk said at the party in a small meeting about OpenAI’s future.

“Let’s all calm down,” Rogers said, urging Musk to address Savitt’s questions directly and for Savitt to keep the cross-examination moving forward.

Federal court in Oakland, Calif. United States District Court Northern District of California

Earlier in the day, Musk returned to the witness stand knocking his fellow co-founders including Altman for wanting the do-gooder image of running a charity while building a for-profit entity worth many billions of dollars.

“They can’t have their cake and eat it too,” Musk said. “They can’t have the positive halo effect of a charity and enrich themselves greatly.”

Musk has accused OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of duping him into thinking he was donating tens of millions of dollars toward launching a nonprofit to develop AI safely and for the benefit of humanity, only to turn it into a for-profit enterprise.

Prior to the trial, Musk unleashed a flurry of social media posts that slapped OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman with the moniker “Scam Altman.”

On Tuesday, Savitt slammed Musk’s legal agenda as a hypocritical “tale of two Elons” — calling it an attempt to throttle OpenAI after Musk launched his rival startup xAI.

Musk “will do anything he can to attack OpenAI,” Savitt said. “He didn’t start coming up with these arguments until he saw that OpenAI could make a lot of money.”

“What he cares about is Elon Musk being on top,” Savitt added. “Mr. Musk had fallen behind. He launched xAI and then he sued.”