Elon Musk attorney claims OpenAI, Sam Altman ‘stole a charity’ as high-stakes legal fight begins

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's legal battle against OpenAI kicked off with a bang on Tuesday, with his attorney alleging CEO Sam Altman "stole a charity" to build a massive, profit-driven empire.

In a federal courtroom in Oakland, California, Musk's lawyer, Steven Molo, told jurors that OpenAI completely abandoned its founding mission to safely develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. 

Instead, Molo argued, OpenAI transformed the organization into a "profit-seeking juggernaut" because leaders were "interested in collecting riches for themselves."

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Musk, who co-founded the company in 2015, is seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and its major investor, Microsoft, with the proceeds slated to go to OpenAI’s charitable arm. 

The Tesla and SpaceX founder is also demanding that OpenAI revert to a nonprofit that will "benefit humanity," and that Altman and the president, Greg Brockman, be removed from leadership. 

Molo emphasized Musk's foundational role, noting he provided roughly $38 million in initial funding and recruited top talent, saying, "Without Elon Musk, there would be no OpenAI."

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Lawyers representing the ChatGPT inventor are defending the company, claiming Musk's lawsuit is fueled by jealousy over the company's soaring $850 billion valuation. 

OpenAI is arguing Musk was aware of and supported the transition to a for-profit model in 2019, and only filed suit after he failed to take over as CEO and launched his own rival AI firm, xAI.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers directly addressed Musk's recent fiery posts on X, where he dubbed his former partner "Scam Altman."

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The judge urged Musk to "try to control your propensity to use social media to make things work outside the courtroom," prompting an agreement from the pair to minimize their online activity during the legal proceedings.

The trial, which is expected to feature explosive testimony from Musk, Altman and Microsoft chief Satya Nadella, could heavily impact OpenAI's plans for a potential $1 trillion initial public offering (IPO).

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Jurors are expected to begin deliberating on liability by mid-May.