In federal court in Oakland on April 28, Elon Musk took the witness stand and delivered the line most likely to define the second day of Musk v. Altman and OpenAI.
"If we make it OK to loot a charity, the entire foundation of charitable giving in America will be destroyed."
Musk was testifying as the plaintiff before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. His case argues that OpenAI’s commercial turn broke the commitments made when the lab was founded as a nonprofit.
What Musk is asking for
The remedy list in the court filings is not built around a personal payout. It is built around forcing OpenAI’s structure back toward its original nonprofit mission.
| Claim | Request |
|---|---|
| Damages | $15 billion |
| Where the money goes | To OpenAI’s nonprofit entity |
| Leadership changes | Remove Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, with Altman also leaving the board |
| Structural changes | Return OpenAI to nonprofit status |
| Legal theory | Breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment |
The key point is that Musk says the $15 billion should go to OpenAI’s charitable entity, not to him. The practical target is OpenAI’s commercialization path.
Musk’s version of the origin story
Musk presented himself as central to OpenAI’s creation. He said he invested about $38 million in the early nonprofit and told the court that he came up with the idea and name, recruited key people, taught the team what he knew and provided the initial funding.
He also emphasized timing. Thirteen months after he left the board, OpenAI created a for-profit entity. In his account, Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in January 2023 marked a breach of the promises made to him and to the public.
Musk revisited his old dispute with Larry Page as well. He repeated the story he once told Lex Fridman: Musk warned that AI could make humanity extinct, while Page answered that it might be fine if AI survived and called Musk a "speciest."
The anecdote served a legal and narrative purpose. Musk used it to suggest that OpenAI was created as a counterweight to a Google-style AI race that did not put humanity first, making nonprofit control the heart of the bargain.
OpenAI’s response
OpenAI lawyer Bill Savitt gave the jury the opposite frame. He said the case exists because Musk did not get his way, left after saying OpenAI would fail, and later watched the company succeed without him.
"We are here because Mr. Musk didn't get his way... He quit, saying they would fail for sure. But my clients had the nerve to go on and succeed without him."
OpenAI’s argument is that Musk wanted control, not merely enforcement of a charitable promise. Savitt said Musk had wanted a for-profit structure himself and wanted "the keys to the kingdom."
Why the structure matters
The case turns on OpenAI’s unusual evolution. It began as a nonprofit in 2015, created a capped-profit subsidiary, OpenAI LP, in March 2019, and brought in Microsoft capital. In the fall of 2025, it reorganized as a Public Benefit Corporation, with the old nonprofit holding a 26% stake plus conditional warrants.
After that reorganization, the nonprofit was no longer the controlling parent in the same way. Musk argues that the shift violated the founding promise and the charitable trust attached to the original mission.
If he prevailed, OpenAI’s reported $852 billion valuation, its recent $122 billion financing and its revised exclusive arrangement with Microsoft would all face fresh uncertainty.
Who comes next
Musk’s testimony was expected to continue on Wednesday. Sam Altman is also due to testify, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to appear. Both sides have agreed to limit public posting during the trial, a condition that may be hardest on Musk.
Can the case shake OpenAI?
As a pure legal claim, a charitable-trust challenge is difficult. OpenAI’s 2025 restructuring went through review by the California attorney general’s office, and Delaware corporate law and California charity law leave room for structural changes.
But the case does not need to end in a sweeping judgment to matter. Musk can still create delay, uncertainty and a visible risk factor for OpenAI’s investors and largest customers.
Customers considering $10 billion commitments, secondary-market buyers and any future IPO audience will have to price the trial into their decisions. On that measure, Musk has already won part of what he came for.
Sources: Musk testifies at OpenAI trial it's not OK to 'loot a charity' (Al Jazeera); CocoLoop, OpenAI trial day 2 takeaways (CNBC); At his OpenAI trial, Musk relitigates an old friendship (TechCrunch)