Elon Musk testified in the high-stakes trial against OpenAI, alleging he was deceived into funding the company under false pretenses. He claimed Sam Altman and Greg Brockman exploited his $38 million donation to build a $800 billion for-profit entity, betraying OpenAI’s original mission to develop AI safely for humanity. Musk, dressed in a black suit, framed the case as a fight to restore OpenAI’s nonprofit structure, warning that unchecked AI could lead to a “Terminator scenario where AI kills us all.”

The trial exposed tensions over AI safety and corporate strategy. Musk admitted his own xAI chatbot, Grok, uses OpenAI’s models via distillation—a technique criticized by OpenAI for creating competing products. He defended xAI as non-competitive, but OpenAI’s lawyer argued Musk’s lawsuit aims to cripple a rival. Musk’s history with OpenAI includes recruiting key employees like Andrej Karpathy for Tesla, which OpenAI’s attorney highlighted to question his motives. The judge confronted Musk’s credibility, noting his delayed lawsuit and conflicts of interest across his ventures.

Musk described three phases of his relationship with OpenAI: initial support, growing distrust after Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in 2023, and current accusations of “looting the nonprofit.” He argued OpenAI’s shift to for-profit status under Altman jeopardizes global AI safety. OpenAI’s defense countered that Musk never opposed profit motives and is now targeting a competitor. The trial’s outcome could destabilize OpenAI’s $1 trillion IPO plans and reshape AI governance.

Experts like UC Berkeley’s Stuart Russell and OpenAI’s Greg Brockman are set to testify next. The case raises broader questions: Can profit-driven AI development coexist with safety? As the trial intensifies, the verdict may set precedents for how AI innovation balances ambition and ethics—with $1.75 trillion at stake for Musk’s xAI and OpenAI’s future.