Sam Altman says Musk’s influence caused damage inside OpenAI

A friendship gone to court

You probably know Elon Musk and Sam Altman as two of the biggest names in tech. They helped launch OpenAI together in 2015, when the organization was introduced as a nonprofit AI research company.

Their fight later played out in a federal courtroom in Oakland, California. During the trial, Altman testified that Musk’s management style badly damaged OpenAI’s culture before Musk left the organization.

What started the fight?

Musk says OpenAI broke a promise. He gave $38 million to start it as a non-profit that would benefit everyone, not just make money.

Altman says that’s not the full story. He testified that Musk always wanted control for himself, even suggesting OpenAI should one day belong to his children.

The chainsaw management style

Altman described a tense moment when Musk had two top OpenAI leaders list researchers and rank their accomplishments. The exercise was presented as a way to judge the team from strongest to weakest.

Altman testified that Musk wanted them to “take a chainsaw through a bunch.” He said that approach demotivated key researchers and did lasting damage to OpenAI’s culture.

Why research labs need safety

You can’t run a research lab like a factory, Altman argued. He told the court that researchers need psychological safety and long stretches of time to pursue difficult ideas without constant pressure to show immediate results.

Musk pushed for a faster, harsher approach, according to Altman, where weak results could put people at risk.

Fun fact: When OpenAI completed its restructuring in October 2025, the non-profit OpenAI Foundation walked away with a 26% stake worth roughly $130 billion. That′s bigger than the Gates Foundation’s entire $86 billion endowment.

A surprising morale boost

When Musk left OpenAI in 2018, something unexpected happened. Altman admitted that workers actually felt relieved rather than sad.

He called Musk’s departure a morale boost in some ways. Suddenly, everyone realized they didn’t have to keep working that stressful way anymore. The team could finally breathe and focus on real science.

Musk’s idea to pass OpenAI down

Altman shared a striking memory from discussions about OpenAI’s future structure. The founders were considering what would happen if Musk controlled a future OpenAI for-profit and later died.

According to Altman, Musk said he had not thought about it much but suggested that control could pass to his children. Altman described the idea as a hair-raising moment because OpenAI’s mission was built around preventing AGI from being controlled by a single person.

No one person should control AGI

Part of why OpenAI was created in the first place was to avoid one person having too much power over artificial general intelligence. Altman said that was a core belief from day one.

He told the jury he’s seen too many startup control fights. Founders who get total control rarely give it up later, even when they promise to.

Fun fact: Altman himself owns no direct equity in OpenAI. His roughly $4 billion net worth comes entirely from outside investments like Helion and Stripe. 

Tesla is a car company

Musk once suggested that OpenAI should become part of Tesla. Altman rejected that idea during his testimony on the witness stand.

“Tesla is a car company,” Altman said. He explained that Tesla’s mission was not the same as OpenAI’s mission, making the proposed combination a poor fit for the AI research OpenAI wanted to pursue.

That good vibes meeting

Not every meeting with Musk was tense, according to Altman. He recalled one discussion about a Microsoft investment back in 2018.

Altman called it a good vibes meeting because Musk spent most of the time showing everyone funny memes on his phone. It was a rare, relaxed moment between the two founders before things fell apart.

Did Altman steal a charity?

During Altman’s testimony, OpenAI’s lawyer asked him about Musk’s allegation that OpenAI’s leaders had “stolen a charity.” Altman paused before saying it was difficult to wrap his head around that framing.

He said OpenAI had created one of the largest charities in the world. OpenAI has said its nonprofit foundation still oversees the for-profit business and holds a major equity stake in the restructured company.

The warning Musk gave

Altman said one warning from Musk was “burned into” his memory. According to Altman, Musk told OpenAI’s leaders that the company had a zero percent chance of success, not even a one percent chance.

Altman also testified that Musk was later offered a chance to invest in OpenAI’s for-profit entity. According to Altman, Musk declined because he did not want to invest in companies he did not control.

A cross-examination battle

Musk’s lawyer didn’t hold back when it was his turn to question Altman. He asked right away, Are you completely trustworthy?

Altman said he believes so. The lawyer then brought up accusations from former OpenAI executives who called Altman a liar. The exchange got heated and lasted for hours.

And if you want to see how Altman is responding to criticism beyond the courtroom, check out Sam Altman’s claims that ChatGPT has ‘mitigated’ mental health risks for the latest debate surrounding OpenAI.

What happened next?

The trial could have changed a lot for artificial intelligence. If Musk had prevailed, OpenAI could have faced major structural changes, billions in potential financial exposure, and pressure to unwind parts of its for-profit conversion.

Instead, a federal jury in Oakland ruled against Musk on May 18, 2026, finding that his case was filed too late. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she agreed with the jury’s decision and dismissed Musk’s claims, though Musk said he would appeal.

And if you want to see another way Musk is trying to shape the future of AI, check out Elon Musk takes action against AI war video monetization, for a closer look at the growing battle over AI content.

If you found this breakdown helpful, hit that like button and drop a comment with your take on who you think was right in this courtroom battle.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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