Elon Musk Takes Stand in Trial vs. Sam Altman That Could Reshape AI's Future

The jury was selected Monday.

Associated Press

Apr 28, 2026 — 3 min read

Photo of Elon Musk at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, by Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP

OAKLAND, Calif., April 28, 2026 (AP) — Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, world's richest man and OpenAI cofounder, took the stand Tuesday in a high-stakes trial revolving around a bitter feud between himself and former friends Sam Altman and Greg Brockman that could reshape the future development of artificial intelligence.

The bickering billionaires' appearances at the Oakland, California, federal courthouse foreshadow the start of a legal drama that is expected to brim with intrigue and potentially embarrassing details about the two tech moguls. Musk filed the lawsuit against Altman and Brockman along with Microsoft over its investments in OpenAI, in 2024.

“Fundamentally, I think they’re going to try to make this lawsuit...very complicated, but it’s actually very simple,” Musk said. “Which is that it's not OK to steal a charity.”

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AI Elon Musk Sam Altman OpenAI xAI Tesla Greg Brockman Microsoft Steven Molo William Savitt Satya Nadella

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