Elon Musk attempted to hire OpenAI's founders to establish an AI unit within Tesla, but they rejected his proposals. OpenAI executives concluded he "really hasn't done his homework AI/AGI," according to testimony from Shivon Zilis. This rejection preceded Musk's departure from OpenAI's board in early 2018, leading to OpenAI restructuring as a for-profit entity with a charitable arm.

Musk now sues OpenAI, which has grown into an $852 billion behemoth, claiming its founders unjustly enriched themselves during the for-profit conversion. OpenAI's lead attorney countered that Musk was "prepared to do the for-profit, provided he would get control," seeking governance authority and wanting to "fold OpenAI into Tesla." Brockman, OpenAI's president, told the jury Musk sought "unilateral control over AGI."

Zilis, who worked at Tesla and Neuralink, testified about her allegiance to "the best outcome of AI for humanity." She and Musk had a romantic relationship and had children via IVF in 2020. When asked about Musk's potential response to OpenAI's success, Zilis warned Altman that Musk might pull "the 'you should have gone with Tesla' card," highlighting the personal dimensions of this corporate and technological dispute.