OpenAI has asked a federal court to allow testimony about a threatening message Elon Musk sent to company president Greg Brockman just before the Musk v. Altman trial began. In the exchange, Musk warned that Brockman and CEO Sam Altman would become 'the most hated men in America' if they rejected a settlement. The move could reveal Musk's motives in the ongoing litigation.
The Musk v. Altman trial started last week in federal court, with Musk testifying first. OpenAI accuses Musk of abandoning the company's nonprofit mission under Altman’s leadership. In a Sunday court filing, OpenAI revealed that two days before the trial, Musk messaged Brockman to gauge interest in a settlement. Brockman suggested both sides drop their claims, but Musk responded: “By the end of this week, you and Sam [Altman] will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so be it.” OpenAI did not accept and the trial proceeded as scheduled. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is expected to decide today whether to admit Brockman’s testimony about the message, potentially overriding typical protections for settlement communications. OpenAI argues the message was coercive, not conciliatory, and shows Musk’s bias to attack a competitor. They draw parallels to Musk’s 2022 Twitter lawsuit, where his “World War III” threat was admitted because his team intended to disclose it. Musk’s lawyers are pushing to exclude it under settlement negotiation precedents. During his testimony, Musk made concessions on AI risks and admitted limited knowledge of safety at his company xAI. Brockman, a cofounder and one of OpenAI’s largest individual stakeholders, is set to testify soon, possibly today or tomorrow. He recently defended his $30 billion stake in court as the result of “blood, sweat, and tears.”
