Elon Musk wanted 'keys to kingdom,' OpenAI lawyer says at trial

A high-stakes trial over the future of OpenAI got underway on Tuesday, with lawyers disputing whether Elon Musk was ​committed to ensuring that artificial intelligence be used to benefit society or instead viewed the Silicon Valley company as a vehicle to amass power for himself.

Musk, the world’s richest ‌person, is suing OpenAI, its Chief Executive Sam Altman and its President Greg Brockman, saying they betrayed him and the public by abandoning the ChatGPT maker’s mission to be a benevolent steward of AI for humanity, and transforming the nonprofit into a profit-seeking juggernaut.

Bill Savitt, a lawyer for OpenAI and Altman, said it was Musk who saw dollar signs as he helped finance OpenAI’s early growth and pushed it to become a for-profit business, one he might eventually lead as CEO.

Savitt ​said Musk wanted “the keys to the kingdom,” and sued only after he failed and then in 2023 started his own AI business, xAI.

“What he cares about is Elon Musk being on ​top,” Savitt said in his opening statement. “We are here because Mr Musk didn’t get his way at OpenAI.”

OpenAI’s lawyer also framed OpenAI’s March 2019 creation of ⁠a for-profit entity as critical to letting it buy computing power and pay top scientists to stay competitive with Google’s DeepMind AI lab.

Musk’s lawyer Steven Molo told jurors in his opening statement it was ​the OpenAI defendants who wanted riches for themselves, as OpenAI began drawing investors including Microsoft.

“The defendants in the case stole a charity, and we’re asking you to hold them accountable,” Molo said during his opening ​statement. “It wasn’t a vehicle for people to get rich.”

Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder, is seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its largest investors, with proceeds going to OpenAI’s charitable arm.

He also wants OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit, with Altman and Brockman removed as officers and Altman removed from its board. Musk’s claims include breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.

JUDGE ADMONISHES MUSK OVER SOCIAL MEDIA USE

Before jurors were seated, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers admonished ​Musk after OpenAI lawyers complained about his posts on X on Monday, in which he assailed Altman as “Scam Altman” and accused him of stealing a charity.

Rogers said she was loath to issue a gag ​order, but urged Musk to “try to control your propensity to use social media to make things work outside the courtroom … Perhaps you’ve never done that before.”

Musk agreed to minimize his social media activity, as did Altman. Both are expected ‌to testify ⁠at trial, as is Microsoft chief Satya Nadella.

The trial could offer a window into some of the egos and personalities that shaped OpenAI as it evolved from a nonprofit research lab in Brockman’s apartment to a company worth more than $850 billion.

It also risks complicating OpenAI’s plans for a potential initial public offering by casting doubt on its leadership, and could intensify Americans’ fears about AI technology more broadly.

OpenAI was co-founded by Musk and Altman in 2015 with a goal of developing AI to benefit humanity and fend off rivals such as Google.

LAWYERS DISPUTE IMPORTANCE OF AI SAFETY TO MUSK

Molo said “Elon became more worried” as the technology advanced, ​and collaborated with Altman to “develop AI safely” after a ​meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in ⁠2015 did not address AI’s risks. Recruiting top AI scientists like Ilya Sutskever was part of that process, Molo said.

Savitt countered that AI safety wasn’t a priority for Musk, and that Musk denigrated OpenAI employees who focused on it. “Jackasses is what he called them,” Savitt said.

Musk has said he provided about $38 million to ​OpenAI for its original mission, only to see OpenAI create a for-profit entity 13 months after he left its board.

Molo said a major turning point for ​Musk came when Microsoft invested $10 billion ⁠in OpenAI in January 2023. “It violated every commitment (the defendants) made, not just to Elon, but to the world,” he said.

Russell Cohen, a lawyer for Microsoft, said that company didn’t do anything wrong.

“Microsoft has been a responsible partner every step of the way,” Cohen said in his opening statement.

OPENAI RECENTLY OVERHAULED STRUCTURE AGAIN

OpenAI also faces growing competition from rivals including Anthropic, and is spending billions on computational resources. A potential IPO could value the company at $1 ⁠trillion, Reuters ​has reported.

Musk’s xAI trails far behind OpenAI in usage. He has folded that business into SpaceX, whose own potential IPO this year ​could be the largest ever.

Last fall, OpenAI overhauled its structure again to become a public benefit corporation, in which the nonprofit and other investors including Microsoft hold stakes. The nonprofit holds a 26% stake, plus warrants if OpenAI hits certain valuation targets.

A public benefit ​corporation could make OpenAI more investor-friendly while retaining its charitable origins.