Musk’s Courtroom Battle Over OpenAI’s Origins and the For-Profit Shift

Elon Musk spent hours in federal court debating his role in OpenAI’s 2015 founding and OpenAI’s nonprofit-to-for-profit shift; Musk says he helped fund and shape the venture, while OpenAI argues he later reneged and left after a power dispute. Musk is suing co-founders Altman and Brockman to restore OpenAI as a nonprofit, a move that would upend its for-profit plans. The cross-examination drew on emails, early hires, and Musk’s ties to AI safety and his own xAI venture, with the judge allowing some lines of questioning while limiting others.