Sam Altman Appears in Court, Hits Back at Musk: "I Am an Honest Businessman"

[The Financial News] Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, took the witness stand in his legal battle with Elon Musk.
On the 12th local time, AP reported that during the third week of the trial at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland, California, Altman pushed back against aggressive questioning from Musk's lawyer and said Musk's lawsuit was driven by jealousy.
The trial is part of a civil lawsuit filed by Musk, the world's richest man, who has demanded Altman's removal, accusing him of betraying OpenAI's founding spirit.
Altman made clear that he disagreed with earlier witnesses who had portrayed him as dishonest. On the stand, he emphasized, "I believe I am an honest and trustworthy entrepreneur."
The key issue in the trial is how OpenAI, which began as a nonprofit backed by early funding from Musk, evolved into a massive for-profit company now valued at $852 billion. Musk argues that Altman and Chairman Greg Brockman broke their original promise to develop technology for humanity and secretly shifted to a for-profit model.
Helen Toner, a former board member, said in video testimony last week that Altman's removal was not about a single incident. Instead, she described it as a pattern of leadership problems, including a lack of honesty and candor.
Co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who once led the effort to oust Altman before later reversing course, also acknowledged in testimony that he had delivered a memo to the board in 2023 saying Altman had lost trust by sowing discord among executives and repeatedly lying. He added, "I later joined the signatures supporting his return to prevent the company from being destroyed."
Altman also revealed that Musk had once demanded excessive control over OpenAI. He said, "When I asked Musk, 'What happens to control if you die?' he replied, 'It will be passed on to my children,' which was baffling." He also claimed Musk repeatedly tried to fold OpenAI into Tesla, his car company, but that such a move did not fit the company's mission.
Altman was blunt about why his relationship with Musk deteriorated. "Musk abandoned us, failed to keep his promises, and put the mission at risk," he said. He then added that the current conflict stems from "jealousy on Musk's part after OpenAI succeeded and he started a rival company."
The outcome of the trial is expected to have major implications for the entire AI industry, going beyond a simple clash between two powerful figures. Analysts say the leadership dispute could undermine public trust at a critical moment, as major AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Musk's xAI prepare for what could be record-setting IPOs.
The jury will weigh testimony from current and former colleagues, along with Altman's own statements, before reaching a final verdict. Depending on the outcome, the balance of power in Silicon Valley and the landscape of the generative AI market could shift dramatically.
Sarah Kreps, director of the Cornell Tech Policy Institute, expressed concern, saying, "It is unfortunate for the entire industry that this kind of public airing of grievances is continuing at a time when public perceptions of AI are already negative."

[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter