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Nadella Set to Testify as Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI Reaches Key Stage

His account of internal emails could sway jurors on whether Microsoft nudged the lab toward profit.

Overview

  • Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to take the stand this week to explain 2018–2019 emails about Azure discounts and investment plans after Microsoft invested $1 billion in 2019 and later $13 billion now valued at about $228 billion.
  • Jurors heard OpenAI president Greg Brockman read from his private journal, including 2017 entries weighing a shift to profit and personal wealth targets, which Musk’s lawyers argued showed a turn away from the nonprofit pledge.
  • Former leaders and directors said Sam Altman was unreliable and created chaos, citing surprise launches such as GPT‑4 Turbo and a board complaint that he kept them uninformed about key moves.
  • Evidence presented in court showed Musk sought control of OpenAI in 2017, withdrew funding when rebuffed, and left the board in 2018 before founding rival xAI.
  • Musk seeks to remove current leaders, unwind OpenAI’s for‑profit structure, and recover roughly $134–$180 billion, with an advisory jury verdict expected next week and a potential public offering at risk if he wins.