Elon Musk is back on the witness stand Thursday for a second day of cross-examination in the trial over his lawsuit against OpenAI. The world's richest man accuses OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and President Greg Brockman of betraying the company's founding mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity.
Musk alleges the defendants used his $38 million in donations to build a nonprofit, then pivoted to a for-profit structure to enrich themselves. OpenAI counters that Musk is bitter about leaving the board in 2018 and is trying to boost his own AI company, xAI.
Under questioning Wednesday, jurors saw a 2017 email where Musk called himself a "fool" for funding a nonprofit venture. "I felt like they had not been honest with me," Musk testified.
OpenAI argues it needed a for-profit arm to attract private investment for computing power and top scientists. Musk will face about an hour of questioning Thursday, followed by a Microsoft attorney. The trial, expected to last several weeks, will also hear from Musk's top aide Jared Birchall, Brockman, and AI safety expert Stuart Russell.