Musk testifies for a second day in a suit that could change artificial intelligence

By Samantha Delouya, Hadas Gold, CNN

(CNN) — Elon Musk took the stand for a second day of testimony against OpenAI and its leaders in a lawsuit that could reshape the future of artificial intelligence, as the emerging technology has sent ripples through the economy and financial markets.

Musk claims OpenAI betrayed its initial nonprofit mission when it changed its corporate structure; OpenAI, for its part, claims Musk’s suit is meant to derail its position as a competitor to his own artificial intelligence company, xAI.

The trial comes as OpenAI is planning what could be a blockbuster IPO – and potentially a cash infusion that could help the company cement its early lead in a global race to dominate AI.

Much of the early questioning on Wednesday focused on early internal emails between Musk and OpenAI executives over possible plans to include a for-profit structure.

Musk said he was fine with a for-profit “as long as it was a subsidiary of the nonprofit.”

“What you can’t have is the for-profit become the main event, and that’s what we have here,” he told the court.

Musk was questioned about his direction of the head of his family office, Jared Birchall, to register a for-profit public benefit corporation in 2017 in OpenAI’s name, saying he did so “in case it was needed.”

In emails presented as evidence, Musk was also shown saying he needs to have control of the proposed corporation.

“I needed to make sure it would go in the right direction and I was providing almost all the money,” he told the court.

When the other co-founders expressed concern over such a set up, Musk told the court he believed they had “gone back on what they had previously agreed” and “what they really wanted to do is create a for-profit where they had as much shareholder ownership as possible.”

In another email presented as evidence, Musk told the cofounders that he would “no longer fund OpenAI until you make a firm commitment to stay nonprofit.”

“I was a fool,” he told the court. “I gave them free funding to create a startup.”

In his first day of testimony, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman watching across the courtroom, Musk laid out a case that he had the key role in creating OpenAI. The company was meant to benefit all of humanity, with open-source code that would make it the antithesis of companies meant only to benefit their shareholders.

OpenAI’s creation, Musk said, was borne out of his longstanding concerns about AI and how the technology could be used to harm humans, perhaps even deeply.

And Musk, known for his sense of drama and sweeping promises in his own business ventures, said his case could also undermine the entire foundation of charitable giving in the United States should he lose.

But Musk’s testimony on Wednesday could soon take on a sharper tone, as he’s expected to be cross-examined by lawyers for OpenAI. The company has called Musk jealous of OpenAI, with its lawyers saying Musk is only suing now because the company has become a success.

OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, has made it a household name, with CEO Sam Altman among the most famous Big Tech leaders in the world. But Musk, the world’s richest man, is himself a major tech leader. Their clash has pitted two high-profile men with seemingly different visions of artificial intelligence in one of the few places where their money and celebrity hold less power than in global markets, research circles or the media: a courtroom.

The nine-person jury, selected on Monday, will advise US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers as she decides whether to apply Musk’s requested remedies, including reversion of OpenAI to its nonprofit structure; the removal of Altman and OpenAI President Peter Brockman from the board; and $130 billion in damages, to go to OpenAI’s nonprofit foundation.

Already, Judge Rogers has made clear that she intends to brook no nonsense from the rich, powerful men in her courtroom. Before testimony began Tuesday, she called out both sides for their social media posts on the case.

“All of you try to control your propensity to use social media to make things worse outside this courtroom,” she said. “Let’s let this play through. Perhaps you’ve never done that before. This would be a first.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.