The trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI kicked off in Oakland, California, with Musk alleging that CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman deceived him into bankrolling the company. What started as a dispute over a nonprofit becoming a for-profit turned into a public airing of Silicon Valley's dirtiest secrets.
The stakes are massive: Musk is asking the court to remove Altman and Brockman from their roles and seeking $150 billion in damages to be paid to the nonprofit. The outcome could upend OpenAI's race toward an IPO at a valuation approaching $1 trillion.
Five days of testimony produced courtroom gasps, handwritten confessions, and revelations about secret relationships. Here's every revelation that matters.
1. Musk Admitted xAI Copies OpenAI's Models While Suing Them
During cross-examination, Musk admitted that xAI uses OpenAI's models to train its own AI. The technique is called distillation: you feed a powerful AI's responses into a smaller AI to teach it how to behave.
The irony hit the courtroom hard. Musk is suing OpenAI for stealing his charity while his own company is copying their work.
