We’re officially two weeks deep in the trial pitting Elon Musk against Sam Altman and OpenAI over the latter’s allegedly illegal decision to convert their organization into a for-profit business. After last week’s Musk-dominated time in front of the judge, the past few days have been primarily dominated by OpenAI’s time in the barrel. While it’s tough to get into a disreputable figure contest with Elon Musk, the fine folks at the world’s biggest AI company certainly came out looking worse than when they started.
In case you opted to just take the “a pox on both their houses” approach and tune out of the trial, here’s a quick catch-up of the biggest moments you might have missed.
Greg Brockman’s Secret Public Diary
OpenAI President Greg Brockman had to live every middle schooler’s worst nightmare: reading his own diary in public. He admitted it was a nightmare on the stand, telling OpenAI’s counsel that it was “very painful” and called the entries “very deeply personal writings that weren’t meant for the world to see.”
But see it they did. And Brockman’s private thoughts, cherrypicked though they may be, did not reflect particularly well on his intentions. In one entry, Brockman asked himself, “Financially, what will take me to $1B?” and later wrote, “It would be nice to be making the billions,” according to The Guardian. Hard to argue with him there; it would be nice to be making the billions. Starting a nonprofit probably isn’t the best path to achieve it, though.
That’s something that Brockman also seemed to recognize. In another entry, he mused about the possibility of cutting Musk out of OpenAI and converting the company into a for-profit enterprise. “It’d be wrong to steal the non-profit from him. to convert to a b-corp without him. that’d be pretty morally bankrupt,” he wrote, referencing Musk’s role at the firm. He also acknowledged that he “Can’t see us turning this into a for-profit without a very nasty fight,” which was a pretty solid prediction, as it turns out.
Sam Altman Is a Serial Double Texter
Sam Altman secured the dubious honor of having his text messages committed to the public ledger and immediately getting turned into a meme. OpenAI’s past and present CEO came off as less than composed in a series of texts sent to then-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati while the company’s board was in the process of removing him back in 2023.
The exchange, documented by Business Insider, took place while Murati was on the phone with the board, which was getting ready to oust Altman. Clearly a bit concerned, Altman asked, “Can you indicate directionally good or bad?” saying that “others” are anxious. Murati responded, “directionally very bad,” which is just an all-timer of a way to tell someone they are about to get fired.
Despite that, Altman didn’t seem totally convinced that was happening. When Murati said the board was “convinced about their decision,” Altman asked, “for me to be fired? or some new thing?” seemingly hoping that actually all of this was about something else entirely and not his future. Turns out it was not. “Yes for you to be gone,” Murati replied.
Sam Altman texts Mira Murati
November 19, 2023 pic.twitter.com/Yr4WPwMWny
— Internal Tech Emails (@TechEmails) May 6, 2026
Things didn’t get better for Altman when Murati spoke about him directly rather than just in text. While on the stand, Murati admitted that she believed Altman had at times lied to her about AI safety protocols and said that she felt like he undermined her in her role as CTO, per Futurism.
Musk Tried to Strong-Arm a Settlement at the Last Minute
While lots of the juiciest tidbits of the trial come from the past being dredged up, one bit of drama occurred very recently: Just days before the trial was set to begin, Musk texted Brockman and tried to secure a settlement. When Brockman responded to suggest that both sides drop their claims and move on, Musk offered up what seems to be a pretty thinly veiled threat. “By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so it will be,” he wrote.
It does seem like both Altman and Brockman have taken a bit of a reputational hit as a result of what has been revealed during the trial. But there is one really big obstacle in the way of them becoming the most hated men in America: Elon Musk still exists.
More Details of Musk’s Messy Baby Momma Menagerie Emerge
It’s strange to think Elon Musk’s penchant for producing offspring matters as it relates to this case, but the fact is that his biggest ally happened to work with him at OpenAI and is also the mother of four of his children. Last week, we learned that Shivon Zilis lives with Musk and the relationship is… complicated. Musk called her his “chief of staff” and “close advisor,” but never girlfriend or romantic partner.
We got additional details this week, though how clarifying they are is questionable. According to The Verge, Zilis denied ever being Musk’s chief of staff. She described their relationship as being “friends and colleagues” who also happened to have a “one-off” that was “romantic in nature.” That was around 2017.
Then in 2021, she had two kids with Musk—twins who were conceived via IVF. She described their relationship at that time as “platonic.” She didn’t tell anyone, including her own father, that she was pregnant until after the kids were born. She admitted that Musk’s war with OpenAI “pruned my friend network.” And then she apparently had two more kids with him.
Whatever lifestyle works for you.
It Sure Seems Like Musk First Suggested Switching to a For-Profit
Perhaps the most interesting bit of drama to come out of this week is the revelation that Musk’s major protestation that turning OpenAI into a for-profit amounts to a dereliction of duty and an affront to everything they stood for might not be as genuine as he’s presented it. The biggest bit of evidence: Musk himself seemingly floated the idea of going the for-profit route.
According to The Verge, Zilis’ testimony included emails from 2017 and 2018. At one point, she mentioned that it was discussed that OpenAI “switch to for profit in next couple of weeks (woah fast!).” That is apparently an idea that Musk was involved with batting around. In another email, Zilis apparently offered Musk some ideas to kickstart Tesla’s AI efforts. “One was making OpenAI a public benefit corporation subsidiary of Tesla. One was getting Altman as an ‘anchor’ for TeslaAI,” she wrote, which doesn’t seem like the kind of thing someone who is insistent on a company remaining a non-profit would consider.
Zilis wasn’t the only one who was seemingly under the impression that a for-profit shift wasn’t completely off the table. Brockman testified that, after the company achieved a milestone in 2017, Musk said it was “time to make the next step for OpenAI.” Brockman interpreted that as meaning it was time to start a for-profit, per The Guardian. In fact, he claims they discussed that very thing with Musk at a party.
According to Brockman’s telling, Musk ultimately issued an ultimatum: he would have full control over a for-profit arm of OpenAI, or the organization would stay a non-profit. So, seemingly, the issue wasn’t so much about maintaining OpenAI’s mission as it was about Musk maintaining control.
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