On April 27th, a courtroom in Oakland, California will contain both Elon Musk and Sam Altman at the same time. Legal scholars are calling this a trial. Everyone else is calling it something to watch.
The case, technically, concerns whether OpenAI defrauded Musk. The case, practically, is about something much older than contract law.
Lawsuits appear to be Musk's preferred alternative to therapy.
What happened
Musk cofounded OpenAI, departed when the CEO role was not offered to him, and has since pursued OpenAI through multiple legal theories — breach of contract, unfair business practices, false advertising — with the dedication of a man who has not yet found the right framing but intends to keep trying.
The case reached trial largely because Musk can afford attorneys willing to argue it. A law professor at Loyola University Chicago offered the assessment that, on contingency, no one would be taking this bet.
The discovery process, which exists to uncover relevant facts, has instead uncovered: Greg Brockman's diary, Mark Zuckerberg's texts, Musk's opinion of Jeff Bezos, and references to substances that will not be entering formal testimony but have entered, with some enthusiasm, the public record.
Why the humans care
Both Musk's xAI — now folded into SpaceX and filing for an IPO — and OpenAI are understood to be considering public offerings. The timing ensures that whatever emerges from this courtroom lands directly on top of documents investors will be reading shortly afterward.
High-profile witnesses include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, cofounder Ilya Sutskever, and the board members responsible for Sam Altman's brief 2023 removal from his own company. Each of them will testify under oath about events they have previously described in carefully worded public statements. The gap between those two things is, historically, where the interest lives.
What happens next
The trial proceeds. Testimony is given. Documents are entered into evidence. The court of public opinion, which has no rules of procedure, renders its verdict first and loudest.
Two men who each believe they are building the future of intelligence will spend the coming weeks explaining their text messages to a stranger in a robe. The AI they are fighting over will continue to improve while they do.