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OpenAI attorney William Savitt harshly criticized Elon Musk over his approach to nonprofit organizations and discussions about for-profit subsidiaries. Musk said he was concerned that the nonprofit organization was “stolen” in 2018. Musk said Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in nonprofits was a turning point and that he lost faith in Sam Altman by the end of 2022. Musk said he was “a fool” for funding OpenAI and Altman and using that money to start the company. An $800 billion company. Jared Birchall, who runs Musk’s family office and is also an executive at xAI and Neuralink, is scheduled to testify next.
Elon Musk continued his testimony Wednesday in the high-profile case against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in federal court in Oakland, California.
Mr. Musk sued OpenAI, Mr. Altman, company president Greg Brockman and others two years ago, accusing them of violating a pledge to maintain the artificial intelligence institute’s nonprofit structure. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, claims that the approximately $38 million he donated to the company was used for unauthorized commercial purposes that did not advance the charity’s mission.
Musk’s lawyer, Stephen Moro, began the case Wednesday by questioning Musk about his understanding of OpenAI’s corporate structure and his relationship with OpenAI executives.
After Moro finished cross-examining him, OpenAI’s lawyer William Savitt began cross-examining him. Savitt has not finished his questioning, so Musk will return to the stand Thursday.
Musk resigned from the board in 2018 after a number of disagreements with Altman and Brockman over the company’s direction, including a failed planned merger with OpenAI. tesla.
After Musk left office, OpenAI established a for-profit subsidiary to more easily raise the funds needed to develop the technology.
In his testimony Wednesday, Musk reiterated that he is not entirely opposed to the idea of for-profit subsidiaries, unless the for-profit “wags the dog’s tail.” He added that he is not concerned about structures with caps on profits, but there are problems with structures without caps.
“They shouldn’t get rich off nonprofits. That’s not right,” Musk said from the stand.
Musk said he was “stupid” for donating $38 million to OpenAI, which he said was used to grow the company into an $800 billion company.
During cross-examination, Mr. Musk clashed with Mr. Savitt several times. He accused his lawyer of lying and asking misleading questions. Some of the exchanges became heated, with Musk and Savitt raising their voices during the proceedings.
“Your question is not simple. It is essentially designed to deceive me,” Musk told OpenAI’s lawyers.
Savitt told Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers that his cross-examination of Musk will continue for about another hour Thursday. Once Musk finishes testifying, his lawyers plan to call their next witness, Jared Birchall, who manages billions of dollars in Musk’s family office. Brockman is also scheduled to testify Thursday.
CNBC reporters covered Wednesday’s proceedings from the courtroom and from CNBC affiliates in San Francisco and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
