Musk Admits xAI Distills OpenAI Models in Landmark Trial

Elon Musk took the stand in the first week of his landmark trial against OpenAI, arguing that CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman deceived him into providing $38 million in free funding for what became an $800 billion company. Musk warned that AI could destroy humanity and admitted that his own AI company, xAI, partly distills OpenAI's models—a practice OpenAI has condemned in others. The trial, held at the federal courthouse in Oakland, California, is packed with lawyers, journalists, and protesters. Musk is seeking to remove Altman and Brockman and unwind OpenAI's for-profit restructuring, which could block its IPO at a nearly $1 trillion valuation. OpenAI's lawyer William Savitt countered that Musk was never committed to OpenAI being a nonprofit and is suing to undermine a competitor. Savitt highlighted that Musk's xAI is a closed-source, for-profit company that sued Colorado over an AI safety law. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers cautioned against turning the trial into a debate on AI's harm to humanity. Musk testified that he lost trust in Altman in late 2022 when Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI. Next week, UC Berkeley computer scientist Stuart Russell will testify on AI safety, and Brockman will also take the stand.