Tech billionaire Elon Musk underwent a friendly questioning session by his own legal team on Tuesday, with cross-examination still pending.
After a two-year interval filled with numerous legal document submissions and multiple social media posts, Elon Musk finally had the opportunity in court on Tuesday to voice his grievances against OpenAI.
The world's wealthiest individual accused OpenAI of deviating from its original charitable trust purpose. Through his courtroom testimony, he emphasized that this case will set a legal precedent, determining whether and how non-profit organizations can transition into commercial entities.
Under friendly questioning from his attorney, Musk first recounted the early days of OpenAI's founding, explaining his original intention in co-founding the organization in 2015 – to ensure the safe and controllable development of artificial intelligence. He answered questions in court regarding his personal experiences and past email correspondence with Sam Altman and other OpenAI co-founders. Musk also predicted that artificial intelligence could achieve human-level performance in all tasks as early as next year.
When asked to explain the core demand of the lawsuit in his own words, Musk stated, "It's actually quite simple."
He claimed that if the court rules that OpenAI, Altman, and the other defendants bear no liability, "this case will become a precedent, establishing a legal precedent that, in my view, would essentially grant a green light for the asset stripping of all charitable organizations across the United States." This viewpoint aligns with the tone of Musk's post on the social platform X on Monday.
OpenAI has strongly refuted Musk's allegations and related characterizations.
Sam Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman attended the opening statements on Tuesday, but Altman left the courtroom before Musk began his testimony. Attorneys from both sides will challenge and cross-examine Musk's claims during Wednesday's cross-examination session.
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