Altman forced to confront claims at OpenAI trial that he's a prolific liar
Ars Technica AI · Ashley Belanger · 2026-05-13
Sam Altman and Elon Musk testified at trial over OpenAI's for-profit restructuring, with Musk alleging the organization betrayed its nonprofit mission and Altman countering that the lawsuit is driven by Musk's personal grievances.
Extraction
Topics: openai-governanceelon-musksam-altmannonprofit-conversionai-policy
Claims
- Elon Musk's lawsuit alleges that OpenAI's current leadership abandoned its nonprofit mission to benefit humanity and instead enriched individuals like Sam Altman.
- Musk claims OpenAI executives partnered with Microsoft to effectively steal a charity after he donated $38 million in early funding.
- Sam Altman testified that Musk's lawsuit is motivated by jealousy over not being chosen as OpenAI's CEO and by competition from xAI.
- Musk spent three contentious days on the stand while Altman testified more calmly for approximately four hours.
Key quotes
Musk's claims that OpenAI executives teamed up with Microsoft to 'steal a charity' after duping Musk into donating $38 million in early funding.
Altman has insisted that Musk is only after revenge, supposedly stemming from his jealousy that he was not picked as OpenAI's CEO and that his rival company, xAI, now lags behind.