Overview
- Elon Musk finished a tense, multi‑day turn on the stand in Oakland, saying his early $38 million gift funded a nonprofit that was later turned into a company worth more than $850 billion.
- Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers pressed Musk to give direct answers while OpenAI’s lawyer challenged him with past emails that suggested he backed a commercial pivot if he held control.
- OpenAI presented September 2017 messages in which Musk sought about half the equity and a board majority, countering his claim that he only wanted a charitable research lab.
- Musk acknowledged organizing a $97 billion investor group in February 2025 to buy OpenAI’s assets and said he did not plan to return them to a nonprofit or open‑source ChatGPT.
- Next witnesses include OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and CEO Sam Altman, before the judge rules by mid‑May on mission, unjust enrichment, and antitrust claims.