Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, revealed new details about the deep dispute with billionaire Elon Musk during his testimony in court. The case was filed by Musk. He objected to OpenAI becoming a for-profit company.
During the hearing, Altman denied Musk's accusations. Musk claimed OpenAI founders stole a charity. He said this happened after they created a business arm. This arm was for developing and selling AI tech.
Altman said this description is hard to grasp. He stressed that OpenAI has become one of the world's largest charity entities. He added that the company's non-profit base does huge work. It will offer more in the future. This report comes from TechCrunch, seen by "Al-Arabiya Business".
Musk Wanted Control of OpenAI
The most exciting moment in Altman's testimony came next. He talked about internal discussions in 2017. They discussed the company's future and finances. At that time, OpenAI needed huge funding. This was for developing advanced AI models.
Altman said Musk's ideas about controlling the for-profit entity raised concerns. This was especially true because OpenAI wanted to avoid having advanced AI controlled by one person. Altman believes this is a core principle.
Altman revealed that Musk suggested something during a discussion. Musk proposed that control of OpenAI should pass to his children if he died. He said, "Maybe OpenAI should go to my children."
Altman noted these statements increased his worry. His past experience at Y Combinator taught him founders rarely give up full power. He knew this from prior work.
Criticism of Musk's Management
During his testimony, Altman criticized Musk's management style at OpenAI. He felt Musk's approach worked for manufacturing and engineering firms. However, he said it was not right for managing an AI research lab.
He said Musk frustrated some key researchers. Altman added that Musk once asked co-founders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever for a list of researchers. They had to rank them by achievement. This was planned for potential layoffs.
Altman described this move as very damaging to the company's culture. The harm lasted for a long time.
He also noted that Brockman and Sutskever managed daily research operations. Meanwhile, both Musk and Altman had other commitments outside the company then. They were busy elsewhere.
From Partnership to Competition
After disputes grew, Musk left OpenAI's board. He later launched competing AI initiatives. He did this through Tesla and then his startup xAI.
However, Altman stated he kept in touch with Musk for a while. He updated Musk on OpenAI's progress. He also asked Musk for advice and funding.
OpenAI's lawyers also clarified Musk knew about the company's investment plans. This included funding talks with Microsoft. These talks later became a main focus of Musk's lawsuits against the company.
In a striking detail from court, Altman said one meeting with Musk about Microsoft's investment was unusually positive. He added that Musk spent a long time showing funny pictures and memes from his phone to attendees.