Musk Returns to Witness Stand in OpenAI Lawsuit
OAKLAND, Calif. — Elon Musk returned to the witness stand Tuesday in Oakland federal court in his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI, alleging the AI lab abandoned its founding nonprofit mission.
The proceedings mark the latest chapter in an ongoing legal battle in which Musk, a co-founder and early backer of OpenAI, challenges the organization’s move to convert to a for-profit entity.
Musk’s lawsuit contends that OpenAI was established in 2015 as a nonprofit research organization with a mandate to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity, and that Altman and other leaders breached that commitment by pursuing a corporate restructuring that would allow the company to generate returns for investors.
OpenAI announced plans to convert from its unusual capped-profit structure to a full for-profit corporation, a move that drew scrutiny from regulators, attorneys general in multiple states, and critics who argued the shift would concentrate the benefits of advanced AI systems among shareholders rather than the public.
The case has drawn public attention as a dispute between two prominent figures in the American technology industry. Musk, who departed OpenAI’s board in 2018, has become a vocal critic of the organization, while Altman has defended the restructuring as necessary to secure the capital required to compete in AI development.
The trial is being closely watched across the AI industry, where the outcome could set precedent for how AI labs balance mission-driven research with the commercial pressures of a growing market. Several major AI companies, including Anthropic, have adopted hybrid corporate structures that attempt to maintain mission alignment while attracting private investment.
The case raises questions at the intersection of nonprofit law, corporate governance, and technology policy — issues that courts have rarely been asked to address at this scale.
The trial is expected to continue in the coming weeks, according to SFGATE, which first reported Musk’s return to the stand.
