Trending Now - Key Insights From Day One of Musk and Altman AI Trial
WHO:
CNN - Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Larry Page, Barack Obama
Business Insider - Musk, Altman, Brockman, Obama, Page
WHAT:
CNN - Musk claims that losing the trial could significantly change the AI landscape as OpenAI plans a massive IPO.
Business Insider - Musk's lawsuit seeks to unwind the for-profit structure of OpenAI, which is valued at $850 billion.
Business Insider - Musk's lawsuit was filed in 2024.
Business Insider - Musk's SpaceX is preparing to go public as soon as this year in an IPO that could value it at more than $2 trillion.
Business Insider - OpenAI is reportedly eyeing an IPO this year at a $1 trillion valuation.
CNN - Musk testified that he believed he was funding an organization that would be a “benefit for all of humanity.”
CNN - Musk claims that losing the trial would “give license to looting every charity in America.”
Business Insider - Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman seeks more than $100 billion in damages.
Business Insider - Musk claims Altman and Brockman deceived him into donating $38 million toward OpenAI's mission.
Business Insider - OpenAI completed a major restructuring that shifted the company toward a more conventional for-profit structure.
Business Insider - Microsoft holds a roughly 27% ownership stake in OpenAI's for-profit entity.
Business Insider - Musk's lawsuit claims that OpenAI has turned into a "subsidiary of Microsoft."
WHERE:
CNN - Oakland, California courtroom
Business Insider - Oakland federal jury
WHEN:
CNN - Musk testified on a Tuesday.
Business Insider - Musk had a one-on-one meeting with Obama in 2015.
Business Insider - Musk left OpenAI in 2018 and launched xAI in 2023.
Business Insider - SpaceX acquired xAI in February.
WHY:
CNN - Musk argues that OpenAI's executives and Microsoft have unjustly enriched themselves by straying from the company’s original charitable mission.
Business Insider - Musk believes there needed to be a counterbalance to Google, which he felt did not care about AI safety.
HOW:
CNN - OpenAI's attorney claimed Musk had promised to help raise $1 billion but left when he did not gain full control.
CNN - Musk claims he came up with the idea for OpenAI, recruited key people, and provided initial funding.
Business Insider - Musk testified that he spent an hour warning Obama about the dangers of AI during their meeting.
(UPDATED April 29, 2026 13:23 UTC)
Musk has filed a lawsuit aimed at unwinding the for-profit structure of OpenAI, which is currently valued at $850 billion, and he claims that losing this trial could significantly alter the AI landscape as OpenAI prepares for a massive IPO. OpenAI is reportedly eyeing an IPO this year at a valuation of $1 trillion, while Musk's SpaceX is also gearing up for a public offering that could exceed $2 trillion. According to OpenAI's attorney, Musk had initially promised to help raise $1 billion but withdrew when he did not gain full control of the organization.
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(UPDATED April 29, 2026 11:29 UTC)
In a courtroom in Oakland, California, Elon Musk testified that he believed he was funding an organization meant to benefit all of humanity, while claiming that losing his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman would give license to looting every charity in America. Musk's lawsuit seeks over $100 billion in damages, alleging that Altman and Greg Brockman deceived him into donating $38 million and that OpenAI has effectively become a subsidiary of Microsoft, which holds a significant ownership stake in the company. Musk argued that the executives at OpenAI and Microsoft have unjustly enriched themselves by straying from the organization's original charitable mission, emphasizing the need for a counterbalance to Google, which he believes does not prioritize AI safety.