Elon Musk took the stand for a second day of testimony in a California federal court on Wednesday, admitting under oath that Tesla is not currently pursuing artificial general intelligence (AGI). This admission contradicts a post Musk shared on X just weeks prior, according to TechCrunch.
Musk is currently engaged in a legal battle to dismantle OpenAI, alleging that Sam Altman and his cofounders "stole a charity." The lawsuit claims the founders misled Musk into supporting a non-profit structure before launching a for-profit arm that now dominates the organization.
In his testimony, Musk stated he believed the original mission was to build AI for humanity. He testified that he eventually concluded the founders were "looting the nonprofit."
OpenAI’s defense lawyer, William Savitt, used cross-examination to argue that Musk previously supported efforts to shift OpenAI toward a for-profit model. Savitt suggested these moves were necessary to compete with major players like Google.
Musk testified that he discussed converting the company to a for-profit as early as 2016. He also noted that in 2017, he explored a plan where he would hold the majority of equity and control a for-profit arm of OpenAI.
According to TechCrunch, Musk’s testimony revealed that after these plans failed, he ceased regular donations to OpenAI. However, he continued to fund the organization's office space until 2020.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will likely have to determine the legal distinction between investors having capped profits versus the original non-profit mandate. The case hinges on whether the transition to a for-profit structure violated the foundational agreement of the lab.
