Elon Musk took the stand in Oakland federal court today and the most consequential trial in AI history officially began. The man who cofounded OpenAI in 2015, walked away in 2018, and has been at war with Sam Altman ever since is now suing his former cofounder for $130 billion in damages. He wants OpenAI converted back to a nonprofit. He wants Altman and Brockman removed from the board. He wants Microsoft held liable as a co-defendant. And he spent his first day of testimony telling a jury that the technology OpenAI is building "could also kill us all." This is not a routine legal dispute. This is a trial that could derail the most valuable AI company in the world right before its planned IPO. And the founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI just spent four hours under oath laying out his case.

The drama started before Musk even reached the stand. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers opened the day by scolding Musk for his recent social media posts about the trial. Musk had spent Monday night posting about Altman, including calling him "Scam Altman" and Brockman "Greg Stockman" who he claimed "stole a charity. Full stop." Judge Rogers threatened a gag order if it continued. Musk agreed to limit his posts. Altman and Brockman agreed to the same.

Then opening statements began.

Musk's lawyer Steve Molo set the tone immediately. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today because the defendants in this case stole a charity." Molo argued that Altman and Brockman betrayed OpenAI's original 2015 charter which committed the company to creating "open source technology for the public benefit" and explicitly stated it was "not organized for the private gain of any person." Musk's team entered that founding charter into evidence on day one.

OpenAI's lawyer Sarah Savitt fired back hard. "We are here because Mr. Musk didn't get his way at OpenAI. That's what happened. He quit, saying they would fail for sure. But my clients had the nerve to go on and succeed without him." OpenAI's defense is built on the argument that Musk left voluntarily in 2018 after losing a power struggle, watched OpenAI succeed without him, and is now suing out of jealousy and regret.

Microsoft's lawyer Russell Cohen made the third opening argument. Microsoft is named as a co-defendant for allegedly aiding and abetting the breach of charitable trust. Cohen pointed to a September 2020 post by Musk on X where Musk himself wrote that "OpenAI is essentially captured by Microsoft." Cohen's argument: Musk knew about the Microsoft relationship years ago, which means his suit exceeds the statute of limitations.

Then Musk took the stand. He spent four hours under oath laying out his version of the founding story. "I came up with the idea, the name, recruited the key people, taught them everything I know, provided all the initial funding," he testified. He said he gave at least $44 million to OpenAI in its first few years and that he would never have contributed those resources if he had known the company would eventually become for-profit. Most importantly he told the jury that the case is bigger than money. "I have extreme concerns over AI," Musk said. He went on to argue that AI is a technology that "could also kill us all."

By the end of his testimony Musk looked visibly tired. Reporters in the courtroom described him sipping water, rubbing his head, and running his hand through his hair. His testimony continues Wednesday.

Because the remedies Musk is asking for are not symbolic.

$130 billion in damages. That is the entire reported value of OpenAI's nonprofit foundation. If Musk wins, that money flows back into the nonprofit and out of the for-profit subsidiary that has raised tens of billions from Microsoft, Oracle, Google Cloud, and others. Every commercial agreement OpenAI has signed becomes legally questionable. Every IPO valuation becomes impossible to defend.

Reverting OpenAI to a nonprofit structure. This is the remedy that would actually destroy the business. OpenAI's current value depends entirely on the for-profit subsidiary that issues equity, signs cloud deals, and is preparing for one of the largest tech IPOs in history. Reverting to nonprofit means none of that exists. The company would still operate but it would not be worth $500 billion. It would be worth a fraction of that.

Removing Altman and Brockman from the board. A jury verdict for Musk would advise Judge Rogers to strip the two founders of their roles. After the November 2023 board crisis where Altman was briefly fired and reinstated, this would be the second time in three years that his position has been fundamentally challenged.

The IPO timing makes this catastrophic. OpenAI is reportedly targeting an IPO this year. Yesterday Microsoft and OpenAI announced they were ending their exclusive partnership specifically to clean up the corporate structure for that IPO. Today's trial could blow it all up. Wall Street does not underwrite IPOs for companies facing existential lawsuits.

Musk's stated reason for filing this suit is not just money. It is philosophy. He cofounded OpenAI in 2015 specifically because he believed AI development needed to happen in a nonprofit setting to avoid commercial pressures forcing dangerous shortcuts. The 2015 charter explicitly committed OpenAI to "the public benefit" and barred private gain.

By 2019 OpenAI had created a for-profit subsidiary to raise capital. By 2023 Microsoft had committed $14 billion. By 2026 the company is preparing to go public at a valuation that would make Altman and Brockman billionaires many times over. Musk's argument is that this entire trajectory is a fraud against the original mission.

OpenAI's argument is simpler. Building frontier AI requires capital that nonprofits cannot raise. The for-profit structure was necessary. Musk knew it was happening. He left voluntarily. He is suing now because he is jealous his former company succeeded without him.

The jury will decide which version is true. The verdict will then guide Judge Rogers as she decides whether to grant Musk's remedies. There is no scenario where this trial ends quickly. There is no scenario where the outcome does not reshape the AI industry. And there is no scenario where Sam Altman comes out of this trial unchanged.

Elon Musk took the stand today against OpenAI in Oakland federal court. He is suing for $130 billion in damages, demanding the company convert back to a nonprofit, and asking that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman be removed from the board. He testified that AI "could also kill us all." Microsoft is named as a co-defendant. Judge Rogers threatened a gag order over Musk's social media posts. Musk's testimony continues Wednesday. The trial could derail OpenAI's planned IPO this year. The trial could trigger the second existential crisis at OpenAI in three years. And it lands in the middle of the most chaotic month OpenAI has had since November 2023. Two of the most powerful men in tech are in the same Oakland courtroom right now fighting over the future of the company that built ChatGPT. The verdict is going to matter for the next decade of AI.

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