OpenAI chief Sam Altman spent two hours on the witness stand in Oakland, California, arguing the nonprofit status of the lab remains intact. The courtroom drama centers on Elon Musk’s 2024 lawsuit that claims OpenAI abandoned its founding mission. Altman insists control should stay shared, not concentrated.

Altman recounted the 2018 power struggle that saw Elon Musk leave after pushing to merge OpenAI with Tesla. He warned that a for‑profit switch would strip the lab of its nonprofit charter and grant a single heir full control. The judge’s question—whether Altman is trustworthy—stretched the case into personal territory.

Musk’s claim of $150 billion in damages hinges on the assertion that OpenAI’s 2024 pivot to a for‑profit subsidiary diluted its charitable purpose. The subsidiary, valued at $730 billion, sits beside a nonprofit foundation whose endowment could exceed $130 billion. Investors watch closely as the trial may reshape AI governance, with Microsoft also under scrutiny.

Board chair Bret Taylor testified that Musk’s 2024 asset‑buyout bid conflicted with OpenAI’s mission. Taylor rejected the offer, citing the danger of single‑person control. The outcome will dictate whether the lab remains a hybrid nonprofit‑for‑profit model or returns to a purely charitable structure.