The trial in Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, entered its third day. Tesla CEO Elon Musk returned to court to deliver his second testimony, during which he expressed regret over his initial investment in the company. Musk stated that he was "a fool" for putting money into OpenAI, which started as a non-profit but later established a for-profit arm.
Musk Reacts to Microsoft Deal
The core issue of the case revolves around a 2020 deal with Microsoft that promised billions of dollars in investment and granted Microsoft exclusive rights to use OpenAI's products. Musk testified that he sent a text message to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman asking, "What the hell is going on?" after learning about the agreement. "I reacted quite negatively to the Microsoft investment," Musk said. "I texted Sam Altman and said 'What the hell is going on?' or something to that effect."
Altman responded via text, reassuring Musk that the product would remain open and accessible to all. "I agree this feels bad. We offered you equity when we established the cap profit, which you didn't want at the time. We are still very happy to do any time you'd like," Altman wrote. Musk countered in his testimony, "This does seem like the opposite of 'open.'" He further described the equity offer as feeling like a "bribe."
Concerns Over AGI Control
Musk expressed concerns that Microsoft's investments indicated expectations of a substantial return, potentially leading to Microsoft controlling the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a level of capability where AI matches or exceeds human intelligence. "With all due respect to Microsoft, do you really want Microsoft controlling artificial general intelligence?" Musk asked during the trial.
"Microsoft would only put $10 billion — which is a huge sum of money — into something if they feel like they will get a return," Musk stated. "There's no way Microsoft is just giving that as a donation or in any charitable way. That's an amount of money that doesn't make any sense."
Lawsuit Details
Musk revealed that the Microsoft partnership felt like a "bait and switch" and risked corporate control of AGI. The tech billionaire has sued OpenAI for allegedly "stealing a charity" and is seeking up to $140 billion in punitive damages from both OpenAI and Microsoft.
This article was reported by the TOI Tech Desk, a team of journalists dedicated to delivering the latest technology news, including gadget launches, reviews, trends, and analysis.
