As the legal battle between Elon Musk and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI commenced on Monday, April 27, the Tesla CEO unleashed fresh attacks against CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk referred to the duo as “Scam Altman” and “Greg Stockman,” accusing them of stealing a “charity.”
Background of OpenAI’s Founding
OpenAI was established in 2015 as a non-profit organization by a group including Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Elon Musk, Ilya Sutskever, Wojciech Zaremba, and John Schulman. Musk filed a lawsuit in November 2024 alleging that the company had betrayed its original mission. He withdrew the case later that year but revived it in early 2026. The trial began yesterday with the appointment of a nine-person jury.
Elon Musk’s Accusations on X
Sharing a post on X, Elon Musk wrote: “Scam Altman and Greg Stockman stole a charity. Full stop. Greg got tens of billions of stock for himself and Scam got dozens of OpenAI side deals with a piece of the action for himself, Y Combinator style. After this lawsuit, Scam will also be awarded tens of billions in stock directly. The fundamental question is simply this: Do you want to set legal precedent in the United States that it is ok to loot a charity? If so, you undermine all charitable giving in the United States forever. I could have started OpenAI as a for-profit corporation. Instead, I started it, funded it, recruited critical talent and taught them everything I know about how to make a startup successful FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD. Then they stole the charity.”
In a separate post, Musk claimed that OpenAI is built on a lie. He is seeking $150 billion in damages, according to a person involved in the case, with the proceeds intended to go to OpenAI’s charitable arm.
OpenAI’s Response
OpenAI has strongly pushed back, labeling the lawsuit a distraction fueled by competitive jealousy. They noted that Musk is now building a rival AI company called xAI, which directly competes with OpenAI, and suggested that this trial is one of his methods to hinder the success of the ChatGPT-maker. The trial is anticipated to be one of the most closely watched legal battles in Silicon Valley history.
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