‘Elon Musk Snapped And Called Me A Jackass’: OpenAI Futurist Tells Court

The

high-stakes trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI seems to be moving towards its final stage after three weeks of surprising courtroom testimonies from both sides. In the latest development, OpenAI’s chief futurist, Joshua Achiam, testified against Musk and described his meeting with him as ‘tense’. As per Business Insider, Achiam told the jury that the Tesla CEO called him a ‘jackass’. Achiam’s testimony is the part of the trial where Musk accused OpenAI of drifting away from its original non-profit mission and claimed that the company moved toward a profit-led organisation.

OpenAI Futurist Recalls Heated Exchange With Musk

One of the most highlighted moments in the court emerged from the testimony of OpenAI’s chief futurist, who told the court that Musk wanted to build his own AI company in 2018 because he feared others could easily misuse the technology, as per the publication.Achiam highlighted he challenged Musk’s approach and called it “unsafe and reckless". He added, “We had a pretty tense exchange, and he snapped and called me a jackass.”Moreover, the testimony became more unusual when OpenAI lawyers reportedly brought a small golden ‘jackass’ trophy to the trial. Achiam told the court that his former colleagues Dario Amodei and David Luan gifted that trophy to him after his meeting with Musk, appreciating him for standing up to Musk on AI safety concerns.However, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers reportedly did not admit the trophy as evidence.

OpenAI Defends Microsoft Partnership

OpenAI has rejected Musk's allegations that the AI startup’s deal with Microsoft damaged its nonprofit identity and shifted its focus towards profits. The company’s expert witness, John Coates, asserted that Microsoft’s reported $13 billion investment strengthened OpenAI rather than hurting it. He said, “The partnership has generated value for the nonprofit.”During the trial, jurors were also shown a 2018 email from Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott, who had earlier questioned whether OpenAI’s early donors would support plans to turn the company into a for-profit business. In the email, Scott reportedly wondered if key donors knew about the plans and suggested they might not appreciate their funding being used to build a commercial company.

While this seemed to support Musk, Scott clarified that he had only limited knowledge about OpenAI’s internal structure at that time. He added that he was majorly thinking about LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, whom he knew as one of OpenAI's donors.What lies ahead is Musk reportedly demanding $180 billion as damages linked to OpenAI’s for-profit operations. The case has raised wider questions about the AI industry. OpenAI remains at the centre of the debate over whether companies making powerful AI models should prioritise public benefit or commercial profits. The outcome of this case will definitely impact the AI policies and products of the company in some way or another.