Elon Musk vs Sam Altman: From OpenAI partners to court rivals.
They once sat together at a San Francisco summit and told the world they were building something for humanity. The full story of how Elon Musk and Sam Altman went from close allies to bitter courtroom enemies is now on the public record. The Musk v. Altman trial in Oakland, California, is heading toward a verdict. A jury begins deliberations on Monday.
In December 2015, Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit AI research lab. Musk was already a multibillionaire through Tesla. Altman led Y Combinator, the famed startup incubator. They shared one central fear: that Google would establish monopoly control over powerful AI. Together, they built a nonprofit to prevent that. Early on, both men publicly celebrated their partnership. Musk donated $38 million to the lab and attracted top researchers. His name drew talent, as co-founder Greg Brockman testified that certain candidates were “very attracted” by Musk’s involvement.
Elon Musk, Sam Altman, OpenAI Rivalry
The relationship began to fracture around 2017 and 2018. OpenAI needed more money. The founders explored for-profit structures to fund the necessary computing resources. Musk wanted majority control of any for-profit entity. Altman and Brockman refused. They believed no single person should control artificial general intelligence. Musk left OpenAI’s board in February 2018. Altman testified that Musk’s departure was actually a morale boost for employees who disliked his “hardcore” management approach.
However, the financial gap his exit created scared others on the team. OpenAI then built a for-profit subsidiary to survive and eventually grew it into a company now valued at over $850 billion. Musk, meanwhile, incorporated xAI in 2023, openly recruiting from OpenAI. In 2024, he sued Altman and OpenAI.
The Trial, the Claims, and What Comes Next
The Musk v. Altman trial spans three weeks of extraordinary testimony. Musk testified that OpenAI’s for-profit structure became the “tail wagging the dog.” He accused Altman and Brockman of trying to “steal a charity.” Altman pushed back directly from the stand.
He argued Musk wanted total control, left when he did not get it, and then tried to destroy what he walked away from. “Mr Musk did try to kill it,” Altman said in testimony. If the court finds Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft liable, Musk seeks up to $150 billion in disgorgement and wants both men removed from OpenAI leadership. Separately, Musk skipped the closing arguments to accompany President Trump to China.
His own lawyer apologised to the jury for his absence. Meanwhile, SpaceX, which now owns xAI after a February merger, targets an IPO expected to raise $75 billion. OpenAI is also racing toward a public offering of its own. The two men who once built AI’s most important institution together are now competing to define its future on opposite sides of the same industry.
