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Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Head To Court (apnews.com) 125

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Technology tycoons Elon Musk and Sam Altman are poised to face off in a high-stakes trial revolving around the alleged betrayal, deceit and unbridled ambition that blurred the bickering billionaires' once-shared vision for the development of artificial intelligence. The trial, which started Monday with jury selection, centers on the 2015 birth of ChatGPT maker OpenAI as a nonprofit startup primarily funded by Musk before evolving into a capitalistic venture now valued at $852 billion. The trial's outcome could sway the balance of power in AI -- breakthrough technology that is increasingly being feared as a potential job killer and an existential threat to humanity's survival. Those perceived risks are among the reasons that Musk, the world's richest person, cites for filing an August 2024 lawsuit that will now be decided by a jury and U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California.

The civil lawsuit accuses Altman, OpenAI's CEO, and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company's founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology. The lawsuit alleges they shifted into a moneymaking mode behind his back. OpenAI has brushed off Musk's allegations as an unfounded case of sour grapes that's aimed at undercutting its rapid growth and bolstering Musk's own xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor. Gonzalez Rogers questioned potential jurors Monday about their views on Musk, Altman and artificial intelligence. Some jurors said they had negative views of Musk, but most said they would still be able to treat him fairly and focus on the facts of the case. [...] "Part of this is about whether a jury believes the people who will testify and whether they are credible," Gonzalez Rogers said during a court hearing earlier this year while explaining why she believe the case merited a trial. The judge will make the final decision on the case, with the jury serving in an advisory role.
The latest development is that a jury has been seated. During selection, several prospective jurors expressed negative views of Elon Musk, but Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected attempts by Musk's lawyer to remove some of them solely on that basis, saying dislike of Musk does not automatically mean someone can't be fair.

The court is selecting nine jurors, and the case is expected to wrap by May 21, when it would go to the jury. Tomorrow, April 28th, will feature opening statements.
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Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Head To Court

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  • by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Monday April 27, 2026 @11:47PM (#66115836)

    Can't wait for when Musk and Altman have to swear to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." :-)

    • by bloodhawk ( 813939 ) on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @01:48AM (#66115932)
      They always tell what they consider their version of the truth.
      • by greytree ( 7124971 ) on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @06:08AM (#66116158)
        I think Musk does that.

        I think Altman tells whatever will get him what he wants, from that person, at that time:

        "[...] most of the people we spoke to shared the judgment of Sutskever and Amodei: Altman has a relentless will to power that, even among industrialists who put their names on spaceships, sets him apart. "He's unconstrained by truth," the board member told us. "He has two traits that are almost never seen in the same person. The first is a strong desire to please people, to be liked in any given interaction. The second is almost a sociopathic lack of concern for the consequences that may come from deceiving someone.""

        https://archive.ph/QMf3Y#selection-2501.4-2501.519
        • That's Altman's version of the truth.
        • > I think Musk does that

          There's so much obviously bad faith nonsense coming from him these days, combined with his history of... dubious statements that appear to have no basis in reality, it's really hard to tell.

          Genuinely, I think Musk is a fraud, among other things. Altman? There's a certain degree to which he seems to believe the Roko's basilisk crap, and even a degree to which he appears to believe OpenAI has built something actually something close to AGI. The people around him seem to believe he b

        • by gweihir ( 88907 )

          So you think Musk is deeply delusional and Altman is an accomplished liar? Possibly.

  • After people have been in the same courtroom with those two bozos, it's expected many of them will request to be hosed down under as high pressure as possible.

  • I wish they could both lose

    • by sodul ( 833177 ) on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @12:18AM (#66115868) Homepage

      They will be both losing thanks to discovery and the fact that a lot of the evidence will become public.

      Both of them are pretty well known for rejecting reality and substituting their own. We should be able to witness multiple parallel realities during this trial.

      • Not everything has to be made public -- when trade secrets are involved, you can request a sealed courtroom. By the way, this is the same judge who threw the book at apple after they decided to fuck around in the epic lawsuit. Fucking around on anybody's part is only asking to find out, especially considering the jury doesn't even decide the ultimate outcome.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by ravenshrike ( 808508 )

        What makes you think the inner workings of the AI will be used as evidence in court at all? The entire thing hinges on financial decisions made by Altman and whether they violate the non-profit structure as agreed upon during OpenAIs founding.

      • I would expect both of these sleazeballs to try to establish much of the juiciest evidence as trade secret.
    • by Epeeist ( 2682 )

      I wish they could both lose

      I hope it runs forever, at least until both of them run out of money.

  • by drnb ( 2434720 ) on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @12:17AM (#66115866)

    Technology tycoons Elon Musk and Sam Altman are poised to face off in a high-stakes trial

    Can the Tesla robots make popcorn yet?

    • Possibly, but would you trust anything cooked up by a Tesla robot?

      Based on Musk's track record, I'm sure 95% of the time the popcorn would be perfectly edible, and perhaps even extra tasty ... but you DO NOT want to eat popcorn from one of those 5% batches.

  • Whoever wins, we snooze.
  • by Fons_de_spons ( 1311177 ) on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @01:08AM (#66115902)
    Somehow I expect them to make passionate love after this. "Talk dirty to me", "Oh I am going to sue you for that", "yes like that, oh electric cars will never make it."...
  • ...I'm Elon and I'm a rube who doesn't understand how business works.

  • by sabbede ( 2678435 ) on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @08:50AM (#66116330)
    "OpenAI as a nonprofit startup primarily funded by Musk before evolving into a capitalistic venture"

    No, "for-profit", not "capitalistic venture". Non-profits exist just fine in the free market.

    Hey, the AP - stop trying to make the political-economy that made you possible look bad.

  • Two guys walk into a court room...
  • If Musk is correct, Altman carried out probably the worst case of fraud against a non-profit and its donors in American history. If he has a case, we should all hope Musk not only flays Altman's finances alive in court, but gets something rolling where Altman faces serious criminal charges for doing a bait-and-switch.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

      If Musk is correct, Altman carried out probably the worst case of fraud against a non-profit and its donors in American history.

      Great, now do DOGE.

      The fact is that not only are there no heroes in this story, there are only the worst pieces of shit imaginable.

      • by dnaumov ( 453672 )

        If Musk is correct, Altman carried out probably the worst case of fraud against a non-profit and its donors in American history.

        Great, now do DOGE.

        Whataboutism is not actually an argument.

  • I hear it's popular these days to generate legal briefs with AI.

    My question is, will Musk's lawyers use Grok for this, and will Altman's lawyers use GPT?

    I mean, put your mouth where your money is!

    • I doubt either would stoop to that level of legal representation. I googled Molo, one of musk's guys. Pretty famous guy from what I can tell. And make no mistake, Altman has Savitt, part of Rosen & Katz, not a slouch firm either. If either really gave a shit about charity, they would be donating the vast sums that those lawyers are going to collect and give it to people who really are getting shit on by the legal system. You know, the thousands who take plea deals because they can either wait 2 years in

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