Musk v. OpenAI trial opens with jury selection and a social media firestorm

The Musk v. OpenAI trial officially kicks off Monday with jury selection at the federal courthouse in Oakland, California. Opening statements are expected Tuesday. But before the court even gaveled in, the two sides were already sparring — on X, naturally.

OpenAI's official account fired first, saying, "We can't wait to present our evidence in court. The truth and the law are on our side. This lawsuit has been nothing but a baseless, jealousy-driven competitive attack. We finally have the chance to put Musk under oath before a California jury."

Musk fired back repeatedly, accusing Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of "stealing a charity." He nicknamed Altman "Scam Altman" and claimed Brockman received hundreds of billions of dollars in stock while Altman enriched himself through dozens of side deals with OpenAI. Musk also alleged that Altman failed to disclose his ownership of the OpenAI Startup Fund to the board and lied to Congress about not profiting from OpenAI. He retweeted a clip of former OpenAI director Helen Toner calling Altman a "liar." Said Musk: "I could have founded OpenAI as a for-profit company, but I chose to set it up, fund it, and hire people for the public good. Then they stole the charity."

The core of the case: Musk alleges that Altman and Brockman promised permanent nonprofit status when founding OpenAI in 2015, inducing him to contribute $38 million, but later converted to a for-profit structure. (Musk has since dropped most of his original 26 charges, leaving two counts: unjust enrichment and breach of public charitable trust.) He is seeking up to $134 billion in damages, to be returned to OpenAI's nonprofit arm, and demands Altman and Brockman be removed and the for-profit conversion reversed. Presiding judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will oversee liability proceedings expected to last through mid-May. Both Musk and OpenAI executives are expected to testify.