A trial between two of Silicon Valley’s biggest tycoons kicked off on Monday in California, the culmination of a years-long bitter feud. Elon Musk has accused Sam Altman of betraying the founding agreement of the non-profit they started together, OpenAI, by changing it to a for-profit enterprise.

Jury selection began at a federal courthouse in Oakland with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers presiding. As she began, she assured the dozens of prospective jurors that this trial wasn’t going to be highly technical, despite it centering around artificial intelligence. “This is just a case about promises and breaches of promises, it won’t get technical at all,” she said.

Altman and Greg Brockman, the OpenAI president, were present for jury selection on Monday. Musk was not.

The crux of Musk’s suit effectively accuses Altman of swindling him with the promise that OpenAI would operate as a non-profit entity focused on safety and open access to artificial intelligence. The suit alleges that once Altman and OpenAI secured Musk’s money and advanced its technology, the company “flipped the narrative and proceeded to cash in” on lucrative deals with Microsoft and the creation of a for-profit affiliate.

Musk accuses Altman, Brockman, and its major partner Microsoft of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment in the lawsuit. Musk had previously brought fraud claims, too, but voluntarily dropped them Friday.

OpenAI has vehemently denied Musk’s allegations, saying that he agreed in 2017 that establishing a for-profit entity would be a necessary next step for the company and that Musk is “motivated by jealousy” and “regret for walking away”. The company also contests that Musk’s funding was an investment, stating that it was instead a tax deductible donation to the non-profit and does not entitle him to ownership in OpenAI.

During jury selection, prospective jurors were given questionnaires that asked whether they have strong opinions about Musk and AI, among other things. The judge then asked follow-up questions. Most people said they had negative feelings about Musk. One called the billionaire a “jerk” and another said they “disagree with a lot of things he’s done”.

A self-proclaimed news junkie brought up Musk’s role in Donald Trump’s so-called “department of government efficiency” and said: “Elon doesn’t care about people … He probably cares more about money.”

Some prospective jurors brought up reservations they have about AI, while others said they were fans of the technology and use OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot regularly. For the most part, however, all prospective jurors said they’d be able to be fair in the case. As one said of Musk: “While I do not like him, I can definitely separate my feelings about him from the facts in the case.”

The case carries sizable stakes for OpenAI, which is expected to go public later this year at about a $1tn valuation. Musk is seeking a range of remedies that include the removal of Altman and Brockman from OpenAI and more than $134bn in damages, which the tycoon says would be redistributed to OpenAI’s non-profit arm. He also wants to reverse the company’s restructuring as a for-profit entity.

Altman, Musk and several other founders launched OpenAI in 2015 as a non-profit organization, with Musk providing about $38m. Altman’s relationship with Musk turned sour around 2017, after the billionaire grew impatient with OpenAI’s progress and made a failed attempt to exert more control over the company. He left OpenAI’s board in 2018 and did not offer any more funding.

During OpenAI’s post-Musk years, it launched the wildly successful ChatGPT, raised tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft and grew to be one of the world’s most valuable private companies. Altman became the face of the AI boom. As the startup sought even more investment in 2025, it gained final approval from regulators to restructure its main business into a for-profit corporation, though one technically still overseen by the original non-profit.

The trial is slated to last about three weeks, with opening statements beginning on Tuesday. Along with internal communications from Musk and key executives at OpenAI, the trial promises a who’s who of Silicon Valley on the witness stand, including Musk, Altman and the Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. (The Guardian)

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