{"id":673031,"date":"2026-05-16T08:09:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/673031\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T08:09:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:09:26","slug":"do-you-always-tell-the-truth-sam-altman-rests-his-case-in-the-openai-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/673031\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDo You Always Tell the Truth?\u201d: Sam Altman Rests His Case in the OpenAI Trial."},"content":{"rendered":"

From lines like \u201cthe good of humanity\u201d to the \u201cdirectionally very bad,\u201d Altman\u2019s defense was decent work\u2014if you can trust it<\/p>\n

This week, OpenAI cofounder and CEO Sam Altman sat on the witness stand in a federal courtroom in Oakland, California, and reminisced about a night he once had with Elon Musk. The year was 2018, and the dueling visionaries were, fleetingly, getting along. \u201cUnlike a lot of other meetings with Mr. Musk, this was, like, a good-vibes meeting,\u201d Altman told the court with a small smile. Musk \u201cwas excited about the progress in the company\u201d\u2014meaning OpenAI, into which Musk had invested tens of millions of dollars. \u201cHe was excited about the plans for the fundraiser. And then\u2014this was like, a pretty late-night meeting\u2014it was a long conversation of him showing us memes on his phone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here, the court stenographer interjected, asking Altman whether he could repeat that last part for her transcript.<\/p>\n

\u201cMemes \u2026 on \u2026 his \u2026 phone,\u201d Altman enunciated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, Altman and Musk had teamed up to get OpenAI, an artificial intelligence frontier lab, off the ground. This month, though, they\u2019ve been seeing each other in court. In Elon Musk et al. v. Sam Altman et al., Musk is alleging that Altman (and Greg Brockman, another OpenAI cofounder) corrupted the company\u2019s original nonprofit mission by building up its for-profit enterprise and ultimately enriching themselves. After three weeks of testimony, the jury heard closing arguments on Thursday, and they\u2019ll return Monday to deliberate.<\/p>\n

Witnesses called by the defense team over the past few days included Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Bret \u201cForrest Gump<\/a> of Silicon Valley\u201d Taylor, and an OpenAI chief futurist whom Musk once called a jackass<\/a>. But the centerpiece of the defense\u2019s case was Altman\u2019s testimony, which sought to paint Musk as self-interested and erratic and Altman as exhausted and wise. Whereas Musk has claimed that Altman \u201cstole a charity\u201d and \u201cbait and switched\u201d Musk for capital infusions, Altman\u2019s narrative was that the company evolved to better compete with the well-resourced big dogs at places like Google\u2019s DeepMind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Altman told the jury another Musk-related story that was decidedly not about a good-vibes meeting. In 2020, a few years after Musk had departed OpenAI, he sent out a social media post denigrating the company\u2014and wounding Altman in the process. So Altman sought outside counsel, so to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had gotten some advice from Shivon [Zilis, Musk\u2019s close adviser and co-parent of four of his children] about how to hopefully engage him in a way where he wouldn’t bash us on Twitter as much,\u201d Altman said\u2014and again, the court reporter asked him to repeat himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBash \u2026 us \u2026 on \u2026 Twitter,\u201d Altman reiterated slowly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sam Altman arrives at the federal courthouse in Oakland, California, on May 12<\/p>\n

JOSH EDELSON \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

When the jury for Musk v. Altman was selected at the end of April, nearly every person who filled out the juror questionnaire knew of (and had strong opinions about) Musk. By contrast, only a small handful were familiar with Altman. It was not uncommon for a prospective juror to say that yes, they used ChatGPT, but no, they\u2019d never heard Altman\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

This was probably good news for Altman, given that many people who do know him\u2014friends, foes, colleagues\u2014say he can\u2019t always be trusted. Even those who have supported or collaborated with Altman in his business endeavors are well aware of his savvy and, when it suits him, his ruthlessness. “You could parachute [Sam] into an island full of cannibals and come back in 5 years and he’d be the king,\u201d wrote Altman\u2019s former Y Combinator compatriot Paul Graham in 2008<\/a>. (Late last month, as the trial began, Graham tweeted that \u201cSam is not qualitatively different from other powerful people in SV. I don’t think he’s less honest than Elon.\u201d) In a recent Ronan Farrow New Yorker article<\/a> titled \u201cSam Altman May Control Our Future: Can He Be Trusted?,\u201d a Microsoft executive is quoted as saying: \u201cSmall but real chance he\u2019s eventually remembered as a Bernie Madoff- or Sam Bankman-Fried-level scammer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

There’s no one I’d feel safe claiming was 100% honest, including myself. But Sam is not qualitatively different from other powerful people in SV. I don’t think he’s less honest than Elon for example.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Paul Graham (@paulg) April 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

By the time Altman testified earlier this week, however, his reputation had started to precede him. For weeks, discussion of Altman\u2019s actions and intentions was a daily happening in court. His own words\u2014\u201ci remain enthusiastic about the non-profit structure<\/a>!\u201d and \u201cI agree this feels bad<\/a>\u201d\u2014routinely flashed on TV screens or were read aloud by witnesses. Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner described Altman as someone with \u201ca habit of putting words in other people’s mouths to get people where he wanted them to go.\u201d Another board member, Tasha McCauley, said he\u2019d presided over \u201ca toxic culture of lying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

And several witnesses chatted about the bananas five-day stretch<\/a> just before Thanksgiving in 2023 when Altman was unceremoniously fired by OpenAI\u2019s board of directors, accused of not being \u201cconsistently candid in his communication\u201d\u2014and then, following a counter-mutiny at the company, was hired back by a freshly selected and Altman-friendly new board. (OpenAI employees coined this whole thing \u201cThe Blip.\u201d)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because of Musk\u2019s lawsuit, thousands of text messages and email chains and diary entries and sworn depositions have been entered into the public record for all to see and Control-F to their hearts’ content. And one of the evidentiary exhibits from that time period\u2014a series of text messages between Altman and former OpenAI CFO Mira Murati, sent at the height of the uncertain chaos\u2014has become the trial\u2019s dankest meme, its most viral artifact.<\/p>\n

\u201ccan you indicate directionally good or bad\u201d Altman wrote to Murati in his all-lowercase style during a tense meeting about his fate, which he was not allowed to attend. \u201csatya and others anxious,\u201d he added, referring to Nadella, the Microsoft CEO and Altman ally who had billions of company dollars (and his own reputation) invested in a partnership with OpenAI.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Murati texted back: \u201cDirectionally very bad,\u201d she said, and a catchphrase was born.<\/p>\n

During his testimony on Tuesday, Altman recalled that rigmarole. \u201cI was in this fog of war,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what was going on.\u201d Glancing occasionally at the jury, he said he\u2019d fretted that all the uncertainty surrounding OpenAI\u2019s leadership would \u201ccause chaos for a thing that I love very much\u201d and that \u201ceverything I had worked so hard to build was going to get destroyed.\u201d He referred to having to \u201cclean up a mess I didn\u2019t make.\u201d He spoke of being confused, angry, annoyed. Still, \u201cI was willing to run back into a burning building to try to save it,\u201d Altman declared. In the courtroom, the plaintiffs played a video clip of Altman on Lex Fridman\u2019s podcast in early 2024, reflecting on The Blip. \u201cAs many people have observed,\u201d he said, eyes blazing, \u201calthough the board had the legal ability to fire me, in practice, it didn’t quite work. And that is its own kind of governance failure.\u201d If you come at the king, as they say, you best not miss.<\/p>\n

Back in 1978, a professor of mathematical logic (and professional magician) named Raymond Smullyan published a whimsical book of logic puzzles and thought experiments titled What Is the Name of This Book? In its opening chapter<\/a>, titled \u201cWas I Fooled?,\u201d the author reminisces on his very own introduction to logic: an exchange with his older brother, Emile, on April Fool\u2019s Day in 1925, when Raymond was 6 years old.<\/p>\n

Emile: So, you expected me to fool you, didn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

Raymond: Yes.<\/p>\n

Emile: But I didn\u2019t, did I?<\/p>\n

Raymond: No.<\/p>\n

Emile: But you expected me to, didn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

Raymond: Yes.<\/p>\n

Emile: So I fooled you, didn\u2019t I?<\/p>\n

One hundred and one years after that conversation, during his testimony in the early days of this trial, Musk told the courtroom: \u201cI was a fool.\u201d He argued that the $38 million he\u2019d put into OpenAI was meant to support a starry-eyed nonprofit that obsessed over its founding mission<\/a>\u2014\u201cto benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return\u201d\u2014not a hotshot for-profit behemoth that\u2019s reportedly eyeing a trillion-dollar IPO in late 2026. On Tuesday, Altman countered that he didn\u2019t really understand this line of thinking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels difficult to even wrap my head around that framing,\u201d Altman said. \u201cAs Bret [Taylor] just testified, we created one of the largest charities in the world.\u201d Altman also rattled off a number of stories about his adversary\u2014that Musk once suggested his kids should inherit control over any future superintelligence in the event of his death; that Zilis told Altman if he didn\u2019t remind Musk of conversations, Musk would probably forget them\u2014intended to call Musk\u2019s judgment and reliability into question.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Attorney Marc Toberoff, representing Elon Musk, speaks during a press conference outside the Oakland federal courthouse on May 12<\/p>\n

JOSH EDELSON \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

And when Altman\u2019s cross-examination started, it sounded a lot like he was hanging out with Emile and Raymond Smullyan on April Fool\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Mr. Altman,\u201d said Steven Molo, Musk\u2019s attorney, before launching into his first line of questions:<\/p>\n

MOLO: Are you completely trustworthy?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: I believe so.<\/p>\n

MOLO: But you don’t know whether you’re completely trustworthy?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: I’ll just amend my answer to yes.<\/p>\n

MOLO: Should the jury believe your testimony?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: I think that’s up to them, but I believe so.<\/p>\n

MOLO: You believe so, or they should?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: Sir, I\u2019m not gonna tell the jury what to think.<\/p>\n

MOLO: Do you always tell the truth?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: I believe I\u2019m a truthful person.<\/p>\n

MOLO: That wasn\u2019t my question, sir. Do you always tell the truth?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: I\u2019m sure there is some time in my life when I have not.<\/p>\n

And that was just, like, the first minute.\u00a0(All this talk about telling the truth or not reminded me of another section in What Is the Name of This Book? called \u201cKnights, Knaves and Normals,\u201d which features variations of a classic logic puzzle premise in which knights can only tell the truth, knaves can only lie, and normals sometimes tell the truth and sometimes don\u2019t\u2014an eminently normal thing to do.)<\/p>\n

When Musk was on the stand a couple of weeks ago, he behaved a lot like an internet edgelord: provoking lawyers, being pedantic, loudly interrupting. Altman\u2019s demeanor, on the other hand, seemed more like that of a concern troll in some online comment section. He often had a furrowed brow; he\u2019d feign confusion; he attempted to give off \u201cfriendly\u201d vibes. This Is Your Li(f)e! I wrote in my notes as Molo ticked through a litany of all the people and institutions over the years that have credibly accused Altman of being deceptive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

OpenAI\u2019s former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, for example, told the company\u2019s board that Altman was \u201cconsistently exhibiting a pattern of lying.\u201d According to Molo, colleagues at Altman\u2019s first aughts-era startup, Loopt, tried twice to boot him for \u201cdeceptive behavior.\u201d (I was bummed that no one entered the famous double-collar photo<\/a> into evidence.) Molo gave so many examples that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers finally told him that he could stop; he\u2019d made his point.<\/p>\n

MOLO: Do you tell lies to advance your business interests?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: N\u2014no.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MOLO: Have you misled people with whom you do business?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: I believe I am an honest and trustworthy businessperson.<\/p>\n

MOLO: OK. That wasn’t my question about what you believe. My question was, have you misled people with whom you do business?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: I do not think so.<\/p>\n

MOLO: Would they think so?<\/p>\n

ALTMAN: I can\u2019t answer that for other people.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Shivon Zilis, former board member of OpenAI, exits the federal court in Oakland on May 6<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

When the trial first started, Judge Gonzalez Rogers explained to the freshly seated jury that believing a witness\u2019s testimony doesn\u2019t have to be an all-or-nothing thing. Reading from the California Civil Jury Instructions, she noted that credibility is in the eye of the beholder. A juror can choose to disregard everything a witness says if they think that any one thing isn\u2019t true. But they don\u2019t have to! They can also decide to only ignore that one sus (that\u2019s a legal term) detail and accept the rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Molo\u2019s recounting of Altman\u2019s reputation for dishonesty was a useful line of attack, especially for any jurors who weren\u2019t already familiar with Altman\u2019s various shenanigans. But I do wonder if, in the end, it will move the needle much. For me, what resonated most during Altman\u2019s testimony weren\u2019t the things he was saying, but rather all the exhibits we kept seeing for ourselves. Like Altman and Zilis constantly strategizing about how to handle Musk as if he\u2019s some sort of infant monarch. Or all the emails in which Musk caused commotions or denigrated OpenAI\u2019s prospects or made demands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After court adjourned on Tuesday, attorneys from each camp held respective press conferences on the plaza outside, as they have on most days these past few weeks. I couldn\u2019t make out what Musk\u2019s lawyer, Marc Toberoff\u2014a Hollywood guy whom I keep mistaking for Robert Kraft<\/a> and whose buddy Ari Emanuel has attended the trial a bunch\u2014was saying. That\u2019s because behind him, a group of anti-AI protestors who have been showing up since the trial\u2019s first day had ramped up their production: \u201cWe\u2019ll stop AI, hallelujah!\u201d they trilled to the tune of \u201cBattle Hymn of the Republic\u201d as a giant inflatable Elon Musk made problematic gestures toward the crowd. \u201cThe humans will sing on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Defense attorney Savitt I could hear a little bit better, enough to know that he considered Altman\u2019s cross-examination to have been \u201ccharacter assasination\u201d and that he described Molo\u2019s questioning of Altman as someone \u201cbarking at you like a rabid dog.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now that closing arguments have concluded, the jury will soon deliberate over questions like: Who\u2019s the knight here, and who\u2019s the knave? and Who ya gonna believe: me or your lyin\u2019 AI?\u00a0OK, OK, the questions technically sound more like (extremely Peanuts grown-up voice):<\/p>\n

Did Microsoft knowingly aid or abet a breach of charitable trust \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n

Did the defendant communicate an intention to impose an enforceable obligation?<\/p>\n

\u2026 and the like. But they\u2019re similar in spirit.<\/p>\n

At the same time, there are enough seats for everyone in the court of public opinion. On Monday night, The Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> that a congressional committee was looking into Altman\u2019s conduct and investments. Farrow\u2019s expos\u00e9 was published last month; not long after,<\/a> Altman\u2019s San Francisco home was the target of two different<\/a> scary acts of violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back during the first week of the trial, reports emerged that not long before jury selection began, Musk had made a late overture to settle things out of court. When Altman and Brockman refused, Musk reportedly seethed<\/a> that they\u2019d soon become \u201cthe most hated men in America.\u201d (A few hours after Altman testified, it was reported that Musk was on board Air Force One en route to China with President Donald Trump, even though he technically hadn\u2019t yet been released as a witness in the trial.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Thursday morning, during the plaintiff\u2019s closing argument, Musk\u2019s attorney Molo asked jurors to consider a little thought experiment. \u201cImagine that you’re on a hike, and you come upon one of those wooden bridges that you see on a trail, and it’s over a gorge,\u201d he said. \u201cThere’s a river that’s 100 feet below. It looks a little scary, but a woman standing by the entry to the bridge says: \u2018Don’t worry! The bridge is built on Sam Altman’s version of the truth.\u2019\u201d I heard chuckles in the courtroom, but Molo continued: \u201cWould you walk across that bridge?\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my truth: I don\u2019t think I would, but it\u2019s not about the structural integrity of the bridge. I\u2019m more worried about who might be waiting for me on the other side. Musk might be there, for example. And even in the best-case scenario\u2014like that good-vibes meeting Altman testified to\u2014I really would rather not get roped into watching memes all night on that knave\u2019s phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Katie Baker<\/p>\n

<\/a>Katie Baker is a senior features writer at The Ringer who has reported live from NFL training camps, a federal fraud trial, and Mike Francesa\u2019s basement. Her children remain unimpressed.