Elon Musk “speaks” publicly a lot (the guy is *always* tweeting), but rarely does he do it when he’s not in control of the message. On X, he can manipulate the algorithm to boost himself and friendly replies. On the rare occasion that he sits down for media appearances anymore, it’s usually a controlled environment with a friendly interviewer. When the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX took the witness stand for his trial against Sam Altman and OpenAI, he very quickly found himself in unfamiliar territory.
It made for quite the show, per the reporters who were there and watched Musk get testy with opposing counsel on cross-examination. But it also produced quite a few notable bits of information—juicy history between Musk and other big tech execs in the Valley, new details about his home life and romantic entanglements, and details about his businesses that paint a different picture than the one he’s offered publicly. In case you missed it (or just prefer to tune out Musk as often as possible), here are some of the most interesting bits from Musk’s time on the stand.
Musk Made Himself the Defender of Charity
The lawsuit that Musk is bringing against Sam Altman and OpenAI hinges heavily on the startup’s origins. Musk holds that OpenAI was always supposed to be a nonprofit dedicated to improving humanity through the development of AI and not the for-profit entity that it has become. While on the stand, he talked often about OpenAI being a “charity” and how he basically got tricked into giving it seed funding to become an AI giant.
“It was specifically meant to be for a charity that does not benefit any individual person. I could’ve started it as a for-profit, and I specifically chose not to,” Musk testified, per Reuters. He also said in his opening statement, “I gave them $38 million of essentially free funding, which they then used to create an $800 billion for-profit company. I literally was a fool.”
Musk posited that allowing OpenAI to continue to operate as a for-profit company rather than forcing it back to its nonprofit origins could upend philanthropy entirely. “If we make it okay to loot a charity, the entire foundation of charitable giving in America will be destroyed. That’s my concern,” Musk said in initial remarks. (Note that Musk himself doesn’t really give all that much, but you know, for the people who do, that’s a big deal.)
New Light Shed on Why Musk Waited to Sue
Musk left OpenAI in 2018. He didn’t sue the organization for allegedly abandoning its original purpose until 2024. So, what gives? According to Musk, he didn’t realize what was happening until 2022, when Microsoft announced that it was making a $10 billion investment in the AI lab.
“Microsoft would only put $10 billion, which is a huge sum of money, into something if they feel like they will get a return,” Musk explained while on the stand, per Business Insider. “There’s no way Microsoft is just giving that as a donation or any kind of charitable way. That’s an amount of money that doesn’t make any sense.”
“I texted Sam Altman and said, ‘What the hell is going on?’ — something to that effect,” Musk told the court. “I think I said, ‘This is a bait and switch.'” Presumably, Altman responded, “New phone, who dis?”
Former OpenAI Advisor Lives With Musk
It’s well known at this point that Elon Musk has a lot of baby mamas, many of whom he seems to see in court more often than in life. But Shivon Zilis, the mother of four of his children, likely sees Musk pretty regularly. Per an account of the CEO’s testimony provided by Wired, Zilis lives with him—though he didn’t put a label on their relationship. Well, unless you count calling her “chief of staff” or “close advisor.” Not exactly romantic, but to each their own.
The Musk-Zilis relationship is not made any less complicated by her role at OpenAI. She was brought on as an advisor at the organization in 2016, and started getting romantic with Musk after the fact. When Musk left OpenAI, she stayed on—and seemingly offered to serve as a spy for her partner.
In a text sent to Musk shortly before he left OpenAI, Zilis asked, “Do you prefer I stay close and friendly to OpenAI to keep info flowing or begin to disassociate? Trust game is about to get tricky, so any guidance for how to do right by you is appreciated.” Musk responded, “Close and friendly, but we are going to actively try to move three or four people from OpenAI to Tesla. More than that will join over time, but we won’t actively recruit them.”
‘The Terminator’ Just Kept Coming Up
Part of Musk’s case against OpenAI relates to what he claims is a key purpose for starting the organization: ensuring that AI is developed safely. While the judge in the case insisted that they wouldn’t litigate whether AI presents an existential risk to humanity, that didn’t stop Musk from slipping in references to pop-culture apocalypses brought about by the technology.
“If we build the robots,” Musk told the court on Wednesday, per The Ringer, “I can make sure that they’re safe, and we don’t have a Terminator future situation.” He brought up the film multiple times while on the stand, though he never really expanded on the idea other than that it would be bad if that happened. “It could also kill all of us … the Terminator outcome,” he said, according to Wired. “I think we want to be in a movie … like Star Trek, not a James Cameron movie.” Presumably, that would also include the Avatar extended universe.
Do Not Put in the Papers That Elon Musk is Mad
While testifying, Musk was presented with some of the language that he’s directed at employees, including reportedly calling the OpenAI safety team “jackasses.” In response, Musk insisted, according to The Verge, “I don’t lose my temper,” and “I don’t yell at people.” Wanna guess how well that held up?
It reportedly only took a few more exchanges with OpenAI’s counsel, who seemed to be intentionally needling Musk, for him to completely undermine that premise. After getting questioned about whether or not he read a 2018 document from OpenAI regarding the formation of a for-profit arm, Musk lost his temper. “I said I didn’t look closely! I read the headline!” he said, raising his voice.
