Discussion

• @garymarcus Gary Marcus on x

  From what I can tell, Elon Musk just stepped on his own toes at the trial, making it all about him instead of the promises Altman and Brockman broke. OpenAI will slay his ego on cross. He should have made it about them. (reporting from @MikeIsaac at NYT) [image]

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  Musk now explaining what “DOTA” is on the stand. (Defense of the Ancients, for the uninitiated. i personally prefer counterstrike but YMMV)

• @michelletomkim Michelle Kim on x

  @techreview “I would've created a nonprofit open-source foundation with or without Sam Altman or Greg Brockman,” says Elon Musk. But at the time, he was glad they would do it with him.

• @michelletomkim Michelle Kim on x

  @techreview “The reason OpenAI exists is because Larry Page called me a speciesist,” says Elon Musk. Because Larry does not care enough about AI safety, he thought, there should be a “counterbalance to Google”: “an open-source nonprofit would be the opposite of Google,” which is

• @michelletomkim Michelle Kim on x

  @techreview Elon Musk says Larry Page at Google wasn't sufficiently concerned about AI safety. According to Elon, when he asked Larry what happens if AI poses risks to humanity, “That will be fine as long as artificial intelligence survives,” Larry told him. “And then he called m…

• @scottbudman Scott Budman on x

  Musk says AI can be good, like in “Star Trek,” or bad, like “in a James Cameron movie.” Says he's “pro human,” which is why he was worried about AI, which he says is why he helped start OpenAI.

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  “I have extreme concerns about AI. I've had concerns about AI for a very long time.” — Musk musk now trashing larry page on the stand amid their fallout. “I care more about humans than AI. what team are you on, Larry?” — musk

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  lot of musk's case is him making the point that he's acting “in the best interests of humanity” so a lot of what he's talking about right now is how fast AI is advancing and how it's going to take over the world and be uncontrollable.

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  Musk's Lawyer's line of questioning essentially boils down to “how can you be so awesome?” musk basically says “b/c i dont sleep”

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  @ceodonovan very clear that Musk's lawyers are making Musk, the public figure, a focal point of the trial, leaning on his celebrity and how his ‘self-made man’ mythos is attractive to his fans. he also made his pleas directly to the jury, facing them with an intense look.

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  @ceodonovan Musk's opening broadside on the stakes of this case are....dramatic: “It will give license to looting every charity in america. The consequences of this case go far beyond me or everyone here. The entire foundation of charitable giving in america will be destroyed.”

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  pretty funny “graphic design is my passion”-style photoshop of Altman self-dealing on “both sides of the table” to himself also the photos they're using of Altman and Brockman are straight up mugshot-worthy i really need to know who musk's trial team's resident photoshop guy is

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  the headshots OpenAI is using for Musk and his allies are far more flattering than the ones Musk's photoshop guy used for OAI execs lol

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  Musk's strategy seems to be to trash any and everyone involved with Altman, including Microsoft. Satya Nadella, Molo says, was “pulling all the strings” to get Altman reinstated after the board fired him in 2023

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  OAI's lawyer done, Microsoft's lawyer up. MSFT's whole thing is basically “yo leave us out of this”

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  Elon Musk and Sam Altman have entered the building, along with a phalanx of lawyers

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  in the courtroom, Judge Gonzalez Rogers is laying out the case for the jury before we begin opening statements. Musk is sitting at the front of the courtroom. Sam Altman and Greg Brockman are sitting together on a bench on the opposite side of the room. i forgot to pack lunch

• @turn_trout Alex Turner on x

  I spent the last 2 months trying to prevent this. If OpenAI offered a fig leaf, Google said “imagine we offered a fig leaf.” Google affirms it can't veto usage, commits to modify safety filters at government request, & aspirational language with no legal restrictions. Shameful. […

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  “Everyone seems to know mr musk and everyone seems to have an opinion about mr musk. not every opinion is good, not every opinion is bad.” — musk's lawyer, as he asks Musk to stand and say hello to the jury. musk stands, nods in his usual triple nodding sort of way, sits.

• @michelletomkim Michelle Kim on x

  @techreview At various times, Elon says he, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever brainstormed various ways to fund OpenAI, which was a nonprofit. They talked about attaching it to Tesla or creating a for-profit entity. “I was not opposed to there being a small for-profit…

• @michelletomkim Michelle Kim on x

  @techreview As one of the founders of OpenAI, Elon Musk says he came up with the idea of the company, the name, recruited the key people, and provided the initial funding. He says he could've made a for-profit AI company, but chose not to. He wanted to make a “charity that does n…

• @ns123abc Nik on x

  🚨An email exchange from September 2017 was just shown to jurors Musk: “Either go do something on your own or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit.” Altman: “I remain enthusiastic about the non-profit structure!” The same month Brockman wrote in his diary: “i cannot believe [image]

• @ceodonovan Caroline O'Donovan on x

  I'm in the court room for Musk v. Altman today, along with Musk himself. HIs lawyer is currently explaining what SpaceX is, along with every other company Musk has founded. “Whether you like him or dislike him, you can't disagree with the fact that he is a legend.”

• @cityofthetown Tom Dotan on x

  Stephen Molo's mic keeps going off at the Musk Altman trial. Now right as he describes Altman's firing and MSFT's pulling the strings to reinstate him. “Is this a Microsoft product?” he asks.

• @teddyschleifer Teddy Schleifer on x

  In the OpenAI trial, Elon Musk ❤️ Charity. In reality... [image]

• @michelletomkim Michelle Kim on x

  Musk's lawyer tells the jury this case is not about Elon Musk, but about OpenAI. He says OpenAI was founded to develop AI safely given its potential risks. It wasn't avehicle for people to get rich, he says.

• @hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x

  Judge: “clean slate... all of you try to control your propensity to use social media to make things worse outside this courtroom. let's let this play through. perhaps you've never done that before. this would be a first. can you agree to that” Musk, Altman and Brockman all agree

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  decidedly less flair in OAI's opening arguments but maybe im just tired. anyway he's laying into Musk but also really about history and explaining the extremely long and winding path to this point to the jury

• @hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x

  Musk side opening statement is done. Attorney opened with “The defendants in this case stole a charity”. We're in a break now before OpenAI side goes up.

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  Musk's lawyer, Steven Molo, is really painting a picture of Musk for the jury as a selfless champion of the human race, who is levying this legal challenge “for the benefit of all mankind” rather than, say, a corporate strategic move among competitors.

• @hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x

  Savitt (OpenAI lawyer) says Musk also “sat on his claims for years” that “Musk has all the relevant info by Sept 2020. Years go by, he forms xAI in 2023 ” then lawsuits are filed. “It's too late now to gin up something to harm a competitor,” Savitt says

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  Musk had to walk through the metal detectors twice, after setting the machine off the first time. He forgot to take his belt off. oops!

• @ahall_research Andy Hall on x

  The Musk-OpenAI trial starts today, and it's rooted in fundamental questions about how AI is going to concentrate power. The origins of OpenAI and the battle with Musk were explicitly about “AGI dictatorship”—fears that Demis Hassabis, Sam Altman, or Elon Musk might wield

• @hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x

  Judge is asking Musk whether she needs a gag order due to his social media use!!

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  lol okay the openai photoshop guy has some moves OAI's lawyer telling “A Tale of Two Elons” — first pic is bathed in green background, a younger, smiling musk depicted second is all red, older musk, frowning

• @katiebakes @katiebakes on x

  attorney paparazzi outside Musk v Altman [image]

• @mikeisaac Rat King on x

  “The DOTA win was a big deal.” — OpenAI's lawyers on how a (admittedly fun) computer game was proof OAI's models were getting better by beating top DOTA players online to be fair, i too think video games are a big deal

• @michelletomkim Michelle Kim on x

  @techreview OpenAI's lawyer pulls up a photo of the founding members of OpenAI during the company's early days, wearing T-shirts and jeans in a scrappy office and “working day and night,” he says. Musk, who was at Y Combinator, came by occasionally to “yell at people for not movi…

• @hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x

  Takeaways from OpenAI's opening: “We're here because Mr. Musk didn't get his way at OpenAI,” said evidence will show Musk was always aware of the for profit plans. Noted Musk's attorney's never mentioned xAI, an OpenAI competitor ...

• @ceodonovan Caroline O'Donovan on x

  Elon Musk's lawyer's microphone has turned off probably four times in the course of his opening statement in Musk v. Open AI. On the fifth or so time, Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers sez: “What can I tell you? We are funded by the federal government.”

• @gerritd Gerrit De Vynck on x

  It's already been a long morning at Musk v. Altman et al. Reporters began lining up at 5am. Musk and Altman came in through a special entrance but went through security like everyone else. Opening statements are beginning NOW

• @thisiselena Elena Perez on bluesky

  advice for the masses, tbh [embedded post]

• @karlbode.com Karl Bode on bluesky

  take off and nuke the entire site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure

• @hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x

  Jury has been selected! Musk team tried to have a few jurors dismissed over their statements about Musk, but judge denied most. “The reality is that people don't like him. Many people don't like him. That does not mean that Americans can't have integrity for the judicial

• @zeffmax Max Zeff on x

  I should note that almost all of these people said they could look past these opinions and be unbiased and fair in the case, it seems like it will only disqualify a very small number of potential jurors.

• @zeffmax Max Zeff on x

  Among the 40 potential jurors in the trial, several have said they don't like Musk, but a significant chunk of the jurors don't even know who Altman is. More here: https://www.wired.com/...

• @jordanuhl @jordanuhl on x

  Jury selection in the Elon Musk v. Sam Altman/OpenAI case is complicated by the fact that potential jurors have a negative view of AI and Elon Musk: [video]

• @hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x

  All jurors are being asked about their feelings about Elon Musk, AI in general, OpenAI and the defendants writ large. A few have said they have negative or strong feelings about Musk, others have said they have questions about his political activities.

• @zeffmax Max Zeff on x

  Jury selection is underway in Musk v Altman. The first few potential jurors have flagged that it'll be hard to be unbiased and fair, because of their negative views about Elon Musk and AI more broadly.

• @lorak Lora Kolodny on bluesky

  Protesters plan a demonstration near the court house in Oakland, CA as jury selection gets underway in Musk v. Altman. www.cnbc.com/2026/04/27/m... CNBC's Ashley Capoot is at the court today & I'm (of course) covering developments w/ her...