Elon Musk’s family details surface during OpenAI courtroom battle

What is the OpenAI trial?

A federal courtroom in Oakland is hosting one of Silicon Valley’s messiest legal battles. Elon Musk says OpenAI betrayed its non-profit mission, while OpenAI says Musk just wanted total control.

Shivon Zilis, who has four children with Musk, was called to testify. Her story mixes personal secrets with big business drama.

Who is Shivon Zilis?

She’s a 40-year-old Canadian venture capitalist who worked at Tesla and Neuralink. In this slideshow about her testimony, you’ll see how she became a key player in Musk’s world.

Zilis joined OpenAI as an adviser in 2016 and later sat on its board. Now she’s the mother of four of Musk’s kids, which made her testimony extra interesting.

Her role in the court case

The OpenAI trial is all about whether the company unfairly switched to a for-profit. Zilis served on OpenAI’s board from 2020 to 2023, right in the middle of the action.

Lawyers asked if she secretly passed info to Musk after he left OpenAI. She said no way, and that her only loyalty was to making AI safe for everyone.

A one-off romance

Zilis testified that sometime after joining OpenAI in 2016, she and Musk had a romantic “one-off.” She said the relationship later became a friendship and did not affect her judgment as an OpenAI board member.

Years later, she said, Musk offered to be a platonic sperm donor after she decided she wanted to become a mother. Their relationship eventually developed into a romantic partnership, and they now have four children together.

Keeping a big secret

Zilis testified that she and Musk agreed to keep his role as the father of their twins confidential because of security concerns around Musk. She said she did not disclose the information to OpenAI’s board until Business Insider contacted her about a planned story.

Afterward, OpenAI’s board considered the conflict and voted to let her stay. Zilis was once part of Musk’s lawsuit before later dropping out as the legal strategy changed.

I had an allegiance

Under oath, Zilis said her private relationship with Musk did not affect her OpenAI board duties. “I had an allegiance to the best outcome, AI for humanity,” she testified.

When asked whether she funneled information to Musk, Zilis replied, “Funnel? Absolutely not.” She also testified that, in earlier roles across Musk’s companies, she worked 80 to 100 hours a week and described it as “just bananas.”

Fun fact: Zilis works 80 to 100 hours a week across Musk’s companies, which she described as just bananas, during her testimony.

The trust game text

One text from Zilis to Musk caught everyone’s attention: the trust game is about to get tricky. OpenAI’s lawyers said that sounded sneaky.

But Zilis explained it differently. She said she wished she had written a trust framework instead. At the time, Musk and OpenAI were having a weird half-breakup, and she was just trying to help them talk.

When the board found out

Zilis didn’t tell OpenAI’s board about Musk being the father until a reporter from Business Insider called her. She said her first call was to her dad, and the next was to CEO Sam Altman.

After that, the board voted on whether to kick her out. They decided to let her stay, trusting her to handle the conflict with Musk.

Brockman’s surprising testimony

OpenAI president Greg Brockman took the stand the day before Zilis. He said she told him in 2021 that she was pregnant with twins, but said it was through IVF and entirely platonic with Elon.

Brockman only learned the truth from news reports later. He also said many board members wanted to remove Zilis because of her ties to Musk.

Leaving the board

Zilis stayed on OpenAI’s board until 2023. That’s when Musk started his own AI company called xAI, which competes directly with OpenAI.

She texted a friend, When the father of your babies starts a competitive effort, there’s nothing to be done. Soon after, she stepped down from the board for good.

Life with Elon Musk today

Zilis testified that she and Musk spend time together as a family in Austin, Texas and live together when traveling. She also said Musk is “in part” supporting their children.

The couple has recently appeared together publicly, including at Mar-a-Lago and White House events. What began as a private donor arrangement later developed into a romantic partnership, according to her testimony.

Curious what else Musk could be planning next? Take a look at his hints about a possible public future for SpaceX; it’s another move getting attention.

What’s next in the trial?

The trial is still going, and both sides have more witnesses to call. Musk wants to undo OpenAI’s for-profit structure and remove Altman and Brockman.

Zilis’s testimony gave the court an honest look at how messy personal and work lives can get in Silicon Valley. Whatever happens next, this trial has already made history.

Want to follow another legal battle involving Musk? Take a look at his court fight over Twitter stock allegations. It’s another headline-grabbing case.

If you found this slideshow interesting, hit that like button and drop a comment below. We’d love to hear your take on the trial.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

Don’t forget to follow us for more exclusive content on MSN.

Read More From This Brand:

• Break these bad tech habits before 2026
• 2026 set to be AI monetization year, says Wedbush analyst
• Samsung plans to start US 2nm chip manufacturing by 2026