OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took the witness stand Tuesday to defend his business record in a trial pitting him against Elon Musk, rebutting testimony that disparaged his leadership at a pivotal time for the ChatGPT maker.
Musk, the world’s richest man, is seeking Altman’s ouster from the company leadership as part of a civil lawsuit accusing him of betraying their shared vision for OpenAI. Since its start as a nonprofit funded primarily by Musk, OpenAI has evolved into a capitalistic venture now valued at $852 billion.
More than two weeks into the trial in a federal courthouse in Oakland, California, neither of the tech titans has emerged as an overly sympathetic character. But nobody has more to lose than Altman. Even if Musk loses his case, the trial has invited further scrutiny of Altman’s leadership at a crucial time for the company and its competition with Musk’s own AI firm xAI and rival Anthropic.
Under questioning by a lawyer for Musk, Altman said he did not agree with trial testimony that depicted him as dishonest. “I believe I am an honest and trustworthy businessperson,” Altman said.
Jurors have heard from witnesses including OpenAI ex-board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley, who spoke about the decision to fire Altman in 2023 before they were themselves ousted from the board when Altman returned to his role. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever confirmed writing a memo characterizing Altman as pitting executives against each other and exhibiting a “consistent pattern of lying.”
The lawsuit accuses Altman and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the company’s founding mission. Musk seeks an unspecified amount of money to fund the altruistic efforts of OpenAI’s charitable arm.
Musk is pursuing an IPO this summer for SpaceX, which could make him the world’s first trillionaire. The trial also risks undercutting OpenAI’s rapid growth and bolstering Musk’s own AI firm xAI. Altman testified he had concerns about Musk’s attempts to gain more control over OpenAI, describing a “particularly hair-raising moment” when co-founders asked Musk about control after his death; Musk responded it should pass to his children.