Closing arguments began Thursday in a landmark federal trial in Oakland, California, as Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI nears a decision. A nine-person jury is set to deliberate next week to determine if the AI firm and Altman are liable. The trial has featured some of the tech industry's biggest names as witnesses and could shape the future of artificial intelligence.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with Altman more than a decade ago, accuses the company of breaching charitable trust and prioritizing profit over nonprofit values and AI safety. During the trial, Musk testified that OpenAI allegedly stole a charity during its for-profit conversion. Lawyers for Musk are attempting to convince the jury that OpenAI's leaders transformed the nonprofit into a vehicle to enrich themselves.
Sam Altman defended the shift to a for-profit model, arguing that the change was essential for raising funds for AI. This scrutiny of Altman's leadership arrives at a crucial time for OpenAI, Anthropic, and Musk's own xAI. The weeks-long battle has exposed the private dealings of the two tech moguls and provided a window into the contentious history of OpenAI.