OpenAI President talks about Elon Musk’s ‘inconsistency’

In the summer of 2017, Musk organized a jubilant party for OpenAI members at the billionaire’s “haunted mansion” in San Francisco Bay. But a few days later, he gathered his co-founders, got angry and demanded control of the company. “He stood up and walked around the table angrily,” Brockman told the jury on May 5, during a trial related to Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman.

Brockman describes the Tesla CEO’s “two-faced” mood swings, from a cheerful homeowner one day to a control freak the next. Musk filed a lawsuit on the grounds that Altman wanted to turn OpenAI into a for-profit company (and did so last year), but Brockman asserted that Musk was the one who had that ambition all along.

According to testimony, throughout 2017, Musk actively pursued turning the company into a business. The billionaire feels that keeping OpenAI completely non-profit will deter investors, like Bill Gates. “He asked Gates four times to donate, but he didn’t even come to the OpenAI office,” Brockman said.

Also according to OpenAI Chairman, Musk wants to hold 51% of the controlling shares in OpenAI and become CEO. “He said he deserved more, because he founded the most billion-dollar companies in history, and never failed,” Brockman continued.

During a meeting with OpenAI co-founders, Brockman said Musk applied pressure by threatening to open a new AI business if he was denied the top position. “Listen, you guys are great. But I could start another AI company tomorrow with just a tweet,” Brockman recounted Musk saying.

However, other founders such as Brockman, Altman and scientist Ilya Sutskever all objected.

“Look, he may know about rockets, he may know about electric vehicles, but he doesn’t understand AI, and I believe he still doesn’t. That’s a big concern,” Brockman told the jury. “Ilya and I don’t think he’ll take the time necessary to get really good at it.”

After being opposed, Musk “walked around the table” and rushed towards him. “I thought he was going to hit me,” Brockman said. However, Musk only grabbed the painting of Tesla in the background. The billionaire then announced that he would stop funding until the co-founders “know what they are doing”.

OpenAI’s president said that Musk wants to be CEO so he can raise $80 billion for his ambition to establish a colony on Mars. However, after not achieving his goals, Musk left the company in early 2018.

However, Brockman confirmed that Musk played a key role in establishing OpenAI. “He provided most of the financing and provided the vision,” he said. “So I’m extremely grateful for those contributions.”

Musk has not yet commented.

Theo Business InsiderBrockman’s testimony portrays Musk’s vivid personality. On May 4, Brockman also testified that two days before the trial, Musk pressured him to settle the lawsuit or become “the most hated person in America” ​​with Altman.

Therefore, OpenAI’s legal team affirmed that Musk’s message reinforced one of the core arguments that Musk’s purpose in suing was only to hinder and confuse the rival company. “The data demonstrate that Musk’s motive for pursuing this lawsuit is to attack his competitors and leaders,” the filing states.

In 2024, billionaire Elon Musk filed a lawsuit, accusing his former company OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, Chairman Greg Brockman and Microsoft Corporation – the original investor in OpenAI – of betraying the non-profit mission.

The first trial, which took place in California federal court on April 28 and is expected to last several weeks depending on the progress of litigation, marks the first time Musk and Altman have faced off in court. The nine-person jury will advise judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on whether to accept Musk’s proposals, including returning OpenAI to a non-profit model, dismissing Altman and Brockman, compensating $130 billion and paying this amount to OpenAI’s non-profit fund.

This is considered one of the most important legal disputes in the AI ​​industry, not only revolving around control of OpenAI but also raising questions about the balance between profit, social responsibility and safety in artificial intelligence development.