Elon gets his day in trial against Sam Altman and OpenAI

It's not okay to steal a charity. Catch up quick: The case stems from Musk's 2024 lawsuit accusing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, co-founder and president Greg Brockman, and Microsoft of betraying the company's original nonprofit mission to benefit humanity. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015. OpenAI says he donated 38 million before leaving the board in 2018. The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla now runs xAI, a direct competitor.Zoom in: Musk is seeking sweeping remedies, including changes to OpenAI's corporate structure, removal of Altman and Brockman, and damages that he has said should go back to OpenAI's nonprofit arm.His side has put the potential damages in the hundreds of billions.The other side: OpenAI says Musk is motivated by jealousy and regret for walking away from OpenAI. The company says Musk donated 38 million to the OpenAI nonprofit, which was spent exactly as intended and in service of the mission.Expect a tale of two Elons, attorney William Savitt, representing OpenAI, Altman and Brockman, said in his opening statement.Russell Cohen, representing Microsoft, asserted that Musk changed his tune about OpenAI's non-profit status only after the success of ChatGPT.Friction point: U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers warned Musk and Altman ahead of opening arguments to keep the fight off social media.Control your propensity to use social media to make things worse outside this courtroom, the judge said.Musk alleged on X Monday that Altman and Brockman stole a charity, accusing both of securing personal benefits while referring to Altman as Scam. Musk said in court on Tuesday blamed the other side. Only after they posted very publicly about this case, only then did I respond, he said.State of play: OpenAI is also facing scrutiny outside the Musk case.Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT last week after prosecutors reviewed chats involving Phoenix Ikner, the accused gunman in the 2025 Florida State University shooting.What's next: The trial is set to run roughly four weeks. OpenAI is targeting a Q4 IPO at a reported 852 billion valuation.