Elon Musk was seen arriving at a federal court in Oakland, California, on Tuesday for opening statements in his trial against OpenAI.
Elon Musk reportedly said he felt like a “fool” for backing Sam Altman’s OpenAI.
The remarks came during Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its original mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity and shifting toward a profit-driven model, according to Reuters.
Jurors on Wednesday were shown a 2017 email Musk sent to Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman in which he described himself as a “fool” for funding the company.
Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said he contributed millions in early funding because he believed he was supporting a nonprofit venture.
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Elon Musk stands in an elevator to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse, in Oakland, California, on April 30, 2026. (Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters)
“What they really wanted to do was create a for-profit where they had as much shareholder ownership as possible,” Musk said.
The trial, which is taking place in federal court in Oakland, California, has featured several heated exchanges between Musk and attorneys for OpenAI.
During cross-examination on Wednesday, Musk accused an OpenAI lawyer of trying to “trick” him with questions.
“Your questions are not simple. They’re designed to trick me,” Musk said.
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CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman attends the trial in Elon Musk’s lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse in Oakland, California, on April 30, 2026. (Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters)
On Thursday, Musk faced questioning over whether he had reviewed a term sheet that Altman sent on Aug. 31, 2017, which outlined the company’s planned shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity overseen by a nonprofit, according to Reuters.
“My testimony is I didn’t read the fine print, just the headline,” Musk said.
Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015. Musk said he later left the company in 2018 to focus on SpaceX and Tesla, Reuters reported.
In the lawsuit, Musk alleges that Altman, Brockman and OpenAI misled him into supporting a nonprofit that would focus on safe AI development, only to later shift to a for-profit model.
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Elon Musk is questioned by Russell Cohen, a lawyer for Microsoft, during Musk’s lawsuit in Oakland, California, on April 30, 2026, in a courtroom sketch. (Vicki Behringer/Reuters)
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He is seeking up to $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its largest investors. Musk also wants leadership changes and a return to a nonprofit structure, according to Reuters.
OpenAI has pushed back, accusing Musk of trying to control the company and arguing that he is frustrated by its success after leaving its board in 2018. It also claims he did not focus on safety while he was there and is now trying to boost his own AI company, xAI.
