Sam Altman Claims Elon Musk Wanted Control Of OpenAI, Not Public Good

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman on Tuesday pushed back against allegations made by tech mogul Elon Musk in an ongoing legal battle over the future of OpenAI. Testifying in a federal court in Oakland, California, Altman denied claims that OpenAI abandoned its original mission to serve humanity and instead became focused on profit.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Altman and others, filed a lawsuit in August 2024 accusing the company’s leadership of misleading him into contributing $38 million before shifting toward a for-profit structure. The billionaire entrepreneur, Musk, has argued that OpenAI moved away from its founding purpose and is now too closely tied to commercial interests.

During his testimony, Altman rejected accusations

that he and OpenAI President Greg Brockman attempted to “steal a charity.”

“It feels difficult to even wrap my head around that framing,” Altman said, adding that he hoped “as OpenAI continues to do well, the nonprofit will do even better,” Reuters reported.

The case, now entering its third week, could have major implications for OpenAI as the company explores a potential initial public offering, reportedly valuing it at around $1 trillion.

Musk is seeking nearly $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its largest investors, with the funds intended for OpenAI’s nonprofit entity. Earlier in the trial, Musk testified: “If you have someone who is not trustworthy in charge of AI, I think that’s a very big danger for the whole world.”

OpenAI’s legal team has argued that Musk was aware of the company’s move toward a for-profit model before leaving its board in 2018. Altman testified that Musk had, at one point, pushed for a 90% ownership stake and consistently sought majority control of the company, something Altman said made him “extremely uncomfortable.”