We have officially been fighting Elon Musk and Sam Altman and OpenAI’s illegal decision to turn their organization into a commercial business for two weeks now. after last week when Musk dominated In front of the judge, the last few days have primarily been dominated by OpenAI’s time in the barrel. While it’s hard to get into a disreputable figure competition with Elon Musk, the fine folks at the world’s largest AI company certainly looked worse than when they started.
If you’ve just chosen to take the “pox in both houses” approach and give it a try, here’s a quick rundown of the biggest moments you’ve missed.
The Secret Public Diary of Greg Brockman
OpenAI President Greg Brockman had to experience every high school student’s worst nightmare: reading his diary in public. He admitted it was a nightmare on the stand, telling the OpenAI consultant it was “very painful” and calling the entries “very deeply personal posts not meant for the world to see.”
But look, they did. And Brockman’s personal opinions, however cherry-picked, didn’t reflect well on his intentions. In one entry, Brockman asked himself, “Financially, what will get me to $1 billion?” and then wrote: “Would be nice to make billions” According to The Guardian. It’s hard to argue with him there; it would be nice to make billions. Starting a non-profit is probably not the best way to achieve this.
It’s something Brockman recognizes as well. In another entry, he pondered the possibility of removing Musk from OpenAI and turning the company into a for-profit venture. “Stealing his non-profit money would be a mistake. Becoming a b-corp without him. That would be pretty morally bankrupt,” he wrote, referring to Musk’s role at the firm. He also admitted that “we can’t see us turning this into a for-profit without a very nasty fight,” which is a pretty solid prediction.
Sam Altman Serial Double Text
Sam Altman has secured the dubious honor of having text messages stored on a public ledger and instantly turned into a meme. OpenAI’s former and current CEO had less than a series of texts sent to then-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati when the company’s board was in the process of ousting him in 2023.
exchange, Documented by Business InsiderIt happened while Murati was on the phone with the board about to fire Altman. A little worried, Altman asked, “Can you show if it’s good or bad in terms of direction?” says that “others” are worried. Murati replied, “very bad in terms of direction,” which is just a way of telling someone they’re about to be fired.
Still, Altman didn’t seem entirely convinced that was happening. When Murati said he was “confident in the decision” of the board, Altman asked, “Should I be fired or something new?” outwardly he hoped that in fact all this was not about his future, but about something else entirely. It turned out not to be. Murati replied: “Yes, you don’t.
Sam Altman sends a message to Mira Murati
November 19, 2023 pic.twitter.com/Yr4WPwMWny
— Internal Tech Emails (@TechEmails) May 6, 2026
Things didn’t get better for Altman when Murati talked about him directly, not in text. While on the stand, Murati admitted that he believed Altman sometimes lied to him about AI security protocols and felt he was undermining his role as CTO. According to futurism.
Musk Tried to Intensify the Conflict at the Last Minute
While many of the court’s juiciest stories stem from the investigation of the past, some drama occurred very recently: Days before the trial was set to begin, Musk texted Brockman and tried to provide a solution. When Brockman responded to suggest that both sides drop their claims and move on, Musk offered what appeared to be a rather thinly veiled threat. “By the end of this week you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist” he wrote.
It seems that both Altman and Brockman suffered a bit of a reputational blow as a result of what was revealed during the trial. But there’s one really big obstacle in their way to becoming the most hated men in America: Elon Musk still exists.
More details are emerging about Musk’s Mixed Baby Momma Menagerie
It’s strange to attribute Elon Musk’s penchant for procreation to this work, but the fact is that his greatest ally worked with him at OpenAI and is also the mother of his four children. Last week, we learned that Shivon Zilis lives with Musk and their relationship is…complicated. Although Musk called her his “chief of staff” and “close adviser,” she was never his girlfriend or romantic partner.
We got more details this week, though it’s questionable how clear they will be. This was reported by The VergeZilis denied ever being Musk’s chief of staff. She described their relationship as “friends and colleagues” with a “romantic” “one-off”. This was around 2017.
Then in 2021, Musk had two children – twins conceived through IVF. He called their relationship at that time “platonic”. She didn’t tell anyone, including her own father, that she was pregnant until after the children were born. He admitted that Musk’s war on OpenAI “broke my network of friends.” And then he apparently had two more children with her.
Which lifestyle works for you.
It appears that this is the first time Musk has suggested switching for revenue
Perhaps the most interesting drama to unfold this week is the revelation that Musk’s main objection that turning OpenAI into a for-profit would be a dereliction of duty and an affront to everything they stand for may not be as genuine as he makes it out to be. The biggest piece of evidence: Musk himself apparently floated the idea of going the revenue route.
This was reported by The VergeZilis’s testimony included emails from 2017 and 2018. At one point, he noted that OpenAI was discussed “going to profit in the next few weeks (wow fast!)”. Apparently, it’s an idea that Musk is busy fighting. In another email, Zilis apparently offered Musk some ideas for launching Tesla’s AI endeavors. “One was to turn OpenAI into Tesla’s public benefit corporation. One was to buy Altman as an ‘anchor’ for TeslaAI,” he wrote, which doesn’t seem like something someone who insists the company will remain a nonprofit would consider.
Zilis wasn’t the only one under the impression that a commercial move wasn’t completely off the table. Brockman testified that after the company reached a milestone in 2017, Musk said it was “time to take the next step for OpenAI.” Brockman said it was time to start working for profit. According to The Guardian. In fact, he claims he discussed the matter with Musk at a meeting.
According to Brockman, Musk eventually issued an ultimatum: he would have full control over the commercial arm of OpenAI, or the organization would remain non-profit. So it seems the issue wasn’t about maintaining OpenAI’s mission, but about keeping Musk in control.
