OpenAI President Greg Brockman wrapped his testimony Tuesday in the Musk v. Altman trial by describing a tense 2017 meeting at Elon Musk's mansion where he feared physical violence. He also explained personal journal entries that Musk's team claims show OpenAI abandoning its nonprofit mission. The testimony highlights early conflicts over OpenAI's direction.
Greg Brockman, OpenAI's cofounder and president, testified in federal court on Tuesday during the Musk v. Altman trial. He recounted a 2017 gathering at Elon Musk's 47-acre estate in Hillsborough, south of San Francisco, with Ilya Sutskever to discuss OpenAI's future. 'I actually thought he was going to hit me,' Brockman said of Musk during the meeting, which involved discussions on transitioning to a for-profit structure amid Musk's ultimatum for control or nonprofit status. Actor Amber Heard, then Musk's girlfriend, had served whiskey before leaving with a friend, Brockman added. Musk voluntarily left OpenAI's board in 2018 after resigning in February that year, citing irreconcilable paths, including a proposed Tesla merger that others rejected. In his departing speech to about 40 employees, Musk indicated he would pursue AGI at Tesla by cutting corners on AI safety to compete with Google, Brockman testified, which damaged team morale. Musk's attorney Steven Molo forced Brockman to read journal entries from 2015 to 2023, alleging they reveal greed and mission abandonment. One 2017 entry pondered flipping to for-profit, musing 'Making the money for us sounds great' and questioning a $1 billion career goal. Brockman, whose stake is now worth about $30 billion, explained these as stream-of-consciousness explorations of Musk's proposals, not firm plans. He rejected calls to return $29 billion, noting his contributions predated ChatGPT's success. OpenAI lawyer Sarah Eddy guided Brockman to contextualize entries, where he worried about Musk becoming an 'AGI dictator' or quitting, and noted it would be 'morally bankrupt' to steal the nonprofit from Musk—though Musk left voluntarily. Brockman emphasized concerns over Musk's AI knowledge and leadership, backing Sam Altman instead.
