The Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial is now on YouTube
JOSH EDELSON / AFP via Getty Images
- You can now stream the trial for Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman on YouTube.
- A new federal court rule in Northern California allows audio livestreaming.
- There's still no video, and you're not allowed to record it.
If you, like many people in America, cannot afford to stay in the San Francisco Bay Area, you're in luck.
The hottest ticket in town — the trial for Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI — is now being livestreamed on YouTube.
A new rule for federal courts in the Northern District of California, where the trial is taking place, allows for civil case proceedings to be livestreamed.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is presiding over the trial in an Oakland, California, courtroom, is the first judge in the district to take advantage of the rule. It's now playing on the district court's YouTube page.
There are limits. The livestream is audio-only, and the local rule strictly prohibits recording or rebroadcasting. So if you want to get a full picture of what's going on at the trial, you still need to attend in person — or just read Business Insider's coverage.
"This Court has carefully considered the recommendation of the Judicial Conference but has determined based on its own experience from 2020 to 2023 that, except in very rare circumstances, providing the media and the public with remote video access improves transparency and confidence in judicial proceedings without having any negative effect on those proceedings," said the rule, announced on Friday, May 1.
Musk claims Altman cheated him by effectively turning OpenAI into a for-profit operation rather than the nonprofit he envisioned as a co-founder and early donor. Altman and OpenAI have said Musk is just trying to hobble OpenAI as his own artificial intelligence company, xAI, struggles to compete.
Following jury selection last week, the trial saw testimony from Musk and his right-hand man, Jared Birchall.
Monday morning kicked off with testimony from Stuart Russell, an artificial intelligence expert testifying for Musk's case, and is expected to continue with OpenAI President Greg Brockman on the witness stand later in the day.
Federal courts uniformly forbid the use of cameras and have historically not allowed for broadcasting. They relaxed the rules on broadcasting during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing more public access with audio feeds.
As the pandemic waned, federal courts pulled back on audio livestreams. The Judicial Conference of the United States, which sets policies for federal courts, has recently offered frameworks for new rules to provide more access.