An Oakland federal courtroom dominated the tech world Tuesday as Elon Musk took the witness stand in his lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, a civil trial before a nine-person advisory jury that could reshape one of the world’s most powerful AI companies.
Musk donated at least $38 million to OpenAI when it launched as a nonprofit in 2015. He accuses Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman of abandoning that mission, steering the organization into a for-profit enterprise now valued at roughly $852 billion. He is seeking damages exceeding $130 billion, the removal of both executives, and a court order to reverse the conversion.
During roughly two hours of testimony, Musk traced the nonprofit idea to a dispute with Google co-founder Larry Page, who reportedly dismissed his AI safety concerns by calling him a speciesist for prioritizing human survival. Musk predicted AI could surpass human intelligence as early as next year, comparing the challenge of guiding its development to raising a child: you cannot fully control it, but you can try to instill values.
OpenAI attorney William Savitt countered that Musk used funding pledges to pressure the founders, sought to own more than 50 percent of a for-profit entity, and pushed to merge the company with Tesla. Savitt argued Musk left in 2018 after failing to gain total control and that the lawsuit is driven by jealousy over a rival’s rise. Microsoft, named as a co-defendant, called the claims factually unsupported. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers warned Musk to stop posting social media attacks about the case; all parties agreed to limit public commentary.
For Upstate South Carolina, the verdict carries practical stakes. Wofford College in Spartanburg and USC Upstate both run programs that depend on commercially licensed AI platforms. BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg County and Milliken and Company, headquartered in Spartanburg, have integrated AI tools into manufacturing and workforce pipelines. A ruling disrupting OpenAI’s structure could affect pricing and access across the region. Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella are among witnesses expected before proceedings wrap around May 21.
