Altman Testifies Musk Wanted OpenAI Control for His Children
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told a San Francisco jury that Elon Musk wanted control of the company handed to his children. Altman also denied ever promising to keep OpenAI as a nonprofit, contradicting a central claim in Musk's lawsuit.
Taking the stand on Wednesday, Altman said Musk in 2017 demanded sole control of OpenAI with eventual succession to his children. The central question in the trial is whether OpenAI's later creation of a for-profit arm breached its founding agreement.
Musk's legal team submitted internal emails and donation documents arguing for a nonprofit-only commitment. Altman countered that no formal promise was ever made, and that OpenAI required outside capital to fund frontier research. Microsoft has since become OpenAI's principal partner, with roughly thirty billion dollars in cumulative investment over eight years.
The case offers a rare public window into governance fights inside the AI industry. The verdict could shape both OpenAI's future IPO plans and the broader legitimacy of donation-funded research labs that have since pivoted to for-profit structures. The jury is expected to deliberate in the coming weeks.
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