Musk ‘was going to hit me,’ OpenAI executive says at trial

OAKLAND – OpenAI president Greg Brockman told a California jury on May 5 that Mr Elon Musk physically threatened him during a 2017 confrontation, testifying that the billionaire stormed out after he was refused absolute control of the artificial intelligence company.

“I actually thought he was going to hit me,” Mr Brockman said.

The testimony came on the second day of Mr Brockman’s appearance at the trial of Mr Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and chief executive Sam Altman, in which the Tesla and SpaceX founder accuses the company of betraying its original non-profit mission.

According to Mr Musk, the company pivoted to a for-profit structure and misappropriated his US$38 million (S$48.5 million) founding donation to build a company now valued at more than US$850 billion.

OpenAI counters that Mr Musk left voluntarily after failing to seize majority control and has since become the company’s direct competitor through his own AI venture, xAI.

Under cross-examination by OpenAI attorney Sarah Eddy, Mr Brockman sought to reframe diary entries that Mr Musk’s lawyers had used the previous day to portray him as a calculating opportunist.

One November 2017 entry read: “It’d be wrong to steal the non-profit from him... That’d be pretty morally bankrupt.”

“It’s very painful, very deeply personal writings that were never meant for the world to see, but there’s nothing in there I’m ashamed of,” Mr Brockman said in court.

Mr Brockman also testified that when Mr Musk announced his departure from OpenAI in February 2018, he told staff he intended to pursue AI development inside Tesla without regard for safety.

“If the sheep are dictating safety and the wolves are not, then there’s no purpose,” Mr Brockman said Mr Musk allegedly told employees at the time.

OpenAI’s legal team argues the timeline proves Mr Musk was fully aware of the company’s commercial pivot – and that his 2024 lawsuit, filed after he launched rival lab xAI, is meritless.

Mr Brockman said that OpenAI now spends US$50 billion a year on computing power – compared with just US$30 million in 2017 – showing how expensive the technology has become and why a charity-style organisation could never have footed the bill.

Mr Brockman acknowledged on May 4 that his stake in OpenAI is valued at US$30 billion.

Mr Altman is expected to testify as early as next week. AFP