Sam Altman took it for the witness to defend his reputation in Musk vs. Altman trial on Tuesday, with Elon Musk’s lawyers responding OpenAI The CEO and hours of questions about his alleged history of deceptive behavior.
The cross-examination was a much-needed victory for Musk, who has so far struggled to make a convincing case. Tuesday’s testimony included a heated exchange in which OpenAI’s CEO had to respond to accusations from former colleagues suggesting untrustworthy.
Highlighting this evidence is not only important for Musk to win over the jury, but also for beating OpenAI in the court of public opinion. A few days before the trial began, Musk sent a message to OpenAI President Greg Brockman and he told her that he and Altman would soon be “the most hated people in America.”
Musk’s lawsuit accuses Altman of effectively stealing OpenAI, taking the $38 million Musk gave to the nonprofit and using it to create a profitable business worth more than $850 billion.
However, there was little evidence on Tuesday to address the gaps in Musk’s legal case. Altman and Sam Teller, Musk’s former chief of staff, testified Tuesday that they did not recall Musk ever placing any special conditions on his contributions to OpenAI. Additionally, it is highly likely that Musk filed his lawsuit too late, years after he made his last donation to OpenAI and fueled suspicions that the organization had violated its charitable trust. By then, the statute of limitations had already expired.
Brockman and his wife, Anna, sat in the gallery with OpenAI’s chief futurist, Joshua Achiam. While Altman and Brockman were there to watch Musk on the witness stand, Musk did not stay for Altman’s testimony. (Flight records suggest was traveling to the Washington, DC area on Tuesday to fly to China with President Donald Trump.)
Before fielding questions from Musk’s lawyers, Altman had a chance to tell his side of the story, answering gentle questions from OpenAI’s lawyers. Wearing a purple tie, Altman painted himself as an entrepreneur and investor who has been fascinated by, and worried about, the potential of artificial intelligence.
Altman testified that Musk has long been focused on managing OpenAI. He recalled a “particularly hair-raising moment” when Musk suggested that control of OpenAI should pass to his children if Musk were to die. “We didn’t feel comfortable with that,” Altman said. Altman also suggested that Musk’s attempt in 2018 to start an AI division within Tesla — and give him the chance to run it — felt like a “vague and subtle threat” that Musk would crush OpenAI with or without him.
Hitting Altman
Steven Molo, Musk’s lawyer, wasted no time in his investigation, asking Altman: “Are you completely credible?” as his first question. Altman replied that he believed so, and then Molo immediately asked if the jury should believe the testimony he had just given. Altman replied, “That’s up to them. I’m not going to tell the jury what to think.” Here’s the heated exchange that followed, as WIRED was able to capture it:
Wharf: Do you always tell the truth?
Altman: I’m sure there are times in my life where I haven’t.
Wharf: Are you lying to further your business interests?
Altman: Nope.
Wharf: Have you misled the people you do business with?
