I know that we’re thinking maybe ACCC v Coles/Woolworths is the ‘trial of the century’ but another early contender might be about to start in the US.
According to Reuters Elon Musk’s action against Sam Altman is about to open, as the process of selecting a jury begins.
Documents reveal tensions among OpenAI founders and leadership doubtsMusk says OpenAI betrayed nonprofit mission, seeks damages and leadership changesOpenAI and Microsoft deny collusion, say Musk wanted control
The bitter legal fight between Elon Musk and the leading artificial intelligence firm, OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, may come down to a few pages in one executive’s personal diary.
“This is the only chance we have to get out from Elon,” wrote Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and a co-founder, in the fall of 2017.
“Is he the ‘glorious leader’ that I would pick?”
Brockman’s diary entry is part of the thousands of pages of internal documents revealed in court since Musk, one of the original co-founders of OpenAI, sued the company, its chief executive Altman and Brockman in 2024.
Musk is seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its largest investors, according to a person involved in the case, with proceeds going to OpenAI’s charitable arm.
Jury selection for the trial began on Monday in the Oakland, California, federal court, with Altman in attendance.
One prospective juror lamented that AI added to her workload instead of decreasing it, while another said, “my strongest opinion is that Elon doesn’t care about people.”
Opening statements are expected on Tuesday.
The battle begins
The documents offer a rare window into egos and personalities that have shaped OpenAI as it evolved from a non-profit research lab in Brockman’s apartment to a tech giant worth more than $850 billion.
They also shed light on how the CEOs with the most power to shape generative AI think about the technology.
The trial risks complicating OpenAI’s plans for a potential initial public offering by casting doubt on its leadership. A drumbeat of unflattering disclosures could also intensify Americans’ growing pessimism about AI technology more broadly.
The case centers on Musk’s claim that OpenAI, Altman and Microsoft betrayed OpenAI’s original mission as a non-profit to benefit humanityby forming a for-profit entity in March 2019, 13 months after Musk left the OpenAI board.
Musk said the defendants kept him in the dark about their plans, exploited his name and financial support to create a “wealth machine” for themselves, and owe damages for having conned him and the public.
He also wants OpenAI to revert to a non-profit, for Altman and Brockman to be removed as officers, and for Altman to be removed from its board, among other measures.
OpenAI countered that Musk is motivated by a compulsion to control OpenAI and prop up his own AI lab xAI, which he founded in 2023 shortly after OpenAI launched ChatGPT and sparked the AI boom.
The company says Musk was involved in discussions to create OpenAI’s new structure and demanded to be CEO.
Microsoft, also a defendant, denies that it colluded with OpenAI and says it teamed up with OpenAI only after Musk left.
In a post on X on Monday, OpenAI said: “The truth and the law are on our side. This lawsuit has always been a baseless and jealous bid to derail a competitor.”
Musk also discussed OpenAI on X.
“I started it, funded it, recruited critical talent and taught them everything I know about how to make a startup successful FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD,” he wrote. “Then they stole the charity.”
Heavy hitters in Silicon Valley including Musk, Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella are expected to testify in person.
The trial comes at a sensitive time for both sides.
OpenAI faces unprecedented competition from rivals including Anthropic, and is spending billions on computational resources. It is also preparing for a potential blockbuster IPO that could value the company at $1 trillion, Reuters has reported.
Musk’s companies face similar pressures. His xAI trails far behind OpenAI in usage.
– Deepa Seetharaman and Jonathan Stempel of Reuters