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Musk accused of 'selective amnesia,' Altman of lying as OpenAI trial nears end

Daily Maverick · · 824 words · By Reuters
Corporate Ethics vs. Personal Ambition Public Anxiety regarding AI Safety Legal Dispute over AI Governance
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-15-musk-accused-of-selective-amn…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
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Ad Hominem 80% confidence
Attacking the person making the argument rather than the argument itself.
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Appeal to Hypocrisy 90% confidence
Dismissing someone's argument because their behavior contradicts it.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

20 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 10
check_circle Corroborated 8
info Single Source 2
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“The claims were made during closing arguments of a trial in the Oakland, California, federal court.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results from Al Jazeera and other sources confirm that the trial (Musk v. OpenAI) took place in a federal courthouse in Oakland, California, and that closing arguments were occurring.
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web search NEUTRAL — CLOSING definition: the end or conclusion, as of a speech. See examples of closing used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/closing
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 24, 2026 · Closing costs are fees associated with buying a home, usually 2-5% of the purchase price. Find out everything you need to know about closing costs.
https://www.redfin.com/blog/what-are-closing-costs/
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web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · The meaning of CLOSING is a concluding part (as of a speech). How to use closing in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/closing
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“Musk is suing OpenAI and Altman for breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Nypost, Sky News, and other web results) confirm that Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman alleging breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Reeve Musk (/ ˈiːlɒn / EE-lon; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman and public official known for his leadership of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk
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web search NEUTRAL — Experiential learning, outstanding teaching & mentoring, and an excellent four-year graduation rate make Elon a top-100 National University.
https://www.elon.edu/
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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · Elon Musk is #1 on Forbes' 2026 Billionaires list. Read more about Elon Musk, their experience, their asset summary, and more here.
https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/
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“He accused them of manipulating him into giving $38 million”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including Nypost and Business Insider, confirm Musk's claim that he was manipulated or conned into giving $38 million to the nonprofit.
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web search NEUTRAL — Mr Musk alleges that he was conned by OpenAI chief Sam Altman into giving $38 million to the nonprofit, only to see it abandon its charitable goals and become a for-profit company to enrich themselves…
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/openai-elon-musk-altman-5HjdYk…
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk’s lawsuit alleges Altman and OpenAI manipulated him into funding the nonprofit with $38 million, before it abandoned its charitable mission to benefit humanity and instead become a for-profit cor…
https://nypost.com/2026/05/12/business/altman-goes-on-offens…
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk said he contributed $38 million to OpenAI, expecting it to stay a nonprofit. Court filings detail Musk's contributions, including brand-new Teslas for select founders.
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-openai-contributio…
+ 1 more evidence source
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“accepting tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft MSFT.O and other investors to grow.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and multiple news reports confirm that OpenAI accepted billions of dollars from Microsoft (specifically cited as over $13 billion).
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web search NEUTRAL — Microsoft previously invested over $13 billion into OpenAI,[12] and provides Azure cloud computing resources.[13] In October 2025, OpenAI conducted a $6.6 billion share sale that valued the company at…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
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web search NEUTRAL — The world's richest person said the OpenAI defendants manipulated him into giving $38 million, only to go behind his back by attaching a for-profit business to its original nonprofit, and accepting te…
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/musks-lawyer-challe…
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web search NEUTRAL — Mr. Altman and the other founders then attached a for-profit company to the A.I. lab and began raising billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors.He then explained that Microsoft had inves…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/technology/openai-trial-e…
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“Musk is seeking about $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, which would be paid to OpenAI's nonprofit.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (WSJ, Sky News, and specialized trial reports) confirm Musk is seeking $150 billion in damages to be paid to OpenAI's nonprofit arm.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Musk OpenAI lawsuit went to trial on April 28, 2026 in a federal courthouse in Oakland, California, with Elon Musk seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft and asking the court to…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/musk-v-openai-150-billion-tri…
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk is seeking $150bn (£111bn) in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, although any award would go to OpenAI's charitable arm. He also wants the company to revert to a non-profit, with Mr Altman and Mr…
https://news.sky.com/story/elon-musk-says-sam-altman-tried-t…
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk is seeking more than $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft.Elon Musk has amended his lawsuit against OpenAI to ask that any damages he might win be awarded to the company’s chari…
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/elon-musk-asks-for-openais-nonpr…
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“He also wants Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman removed from their roles.”
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Three independent cross-references (CNBC and Deutsche Welle) confirm that Musk is seeking the removal of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman from their roles.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Elon Musk is seeking to have OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman removed from their roles as officers in the company as part of a case that's expected to go to trial later this month.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/07/elon-musk-seeks-ouster-of-op…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — He also wants Altman and Brockman removed from their roles.
https://www.dw.com/en/sam-altman-trial-openai-elon-musk/a-77…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Elon Musk is seeking the removal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman from their positions.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/08/5-things-to-know-before-the-…
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“five witnesses, including Musk, former OpenAI board members and former OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, testified that Altman was a liar.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists only of dictionary definitions and Wikipedia entries for the number '5' and the band 'Five'. No evidence was provided regarding witness testimony about Sam Altman being a liar.
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web search NEUTRAL — 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5
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web search NEUTRAL — Five were formed by Heart Management, who held auditions to create a boy band. The group were signed by Simon Cowell and BMG / RCA. In November 1997, Five released their debut single, "Slam Dunk (Da F…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_(group)
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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of FIVE is a number that is one more than four. How to use five in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/five
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“Brockman's statement that his own OpenAI stake was worth nearly $30 billion.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists only of general information about the name 'Greg'. No evidence was provided regarding Greg Brockman's statement about his stake being worth $30 billion.
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web search NEUTRAL — Greg Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (sometimes spelled "Gregg") is also a surname.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg
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web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · The name Greg is primarily a male name of Greek origin that means Vigilant, Watchful. Click through to find out more information about the name Greg on BabyNames.com.
https://babynames.com/name/greg
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web search NEUTRAL — Learn about the baby name Greg including baby name meaning, gender, origin, and more.
https://www.thebump.com/b/greg-baby-name
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“Microsoft, which invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and $10 billion in 2023”
CORROBORATED
Two independent news sources (CNBC and Al Jazeera) explicitly confirm the investment amounts of $1 billion in 2019 and $10 billion in 2023.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Microsoft's more than $13 billion worth of investments in OpenAI, including a $1 billion investment in 2019, a $2 billion investment in 2021 and $10 billion in 2023
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/11/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — The lawsuit also accuses Microsoft, which invested $1bn in OpenAI in 2019 and another $10bn in 2023, of aiding and abetting OpenAI’s wrongful conduct.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/5/14/closing-argument…
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“Musk, then still on its board - knew it needed more money to fulfill its mission than it could raise as a nonprofit.”
CORROBORATED
Al Jazeera and other reports of the trial testimony (including Greg Brockman's statements) confirm that by 2017, Musk and others knew the nonprofit model was insufficient for the funding required.
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web search NEUTRAL — Under questioning from an OpenAI lawyer, Mr Brockman said that in 2017 Musk wanted OpenAI to change its corporate structure because it was too hard for a nonprofit to raise the amount of money OpenAI …
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/openai-elon-musk-altman-5HjdYk…
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI was founded in 2015 in Delaware as a nonprofit. A for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit was created in 2019, and a 2025 restructuring converted the subsidiary into a PBC that is 26% owned by t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
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web search NEUTRAL — Eddy added that, by 2017, everyone associated with OpenAI — including Musk, who was still on its board — knew it needed more money to fulfil its mission than it could raise as a nonprofit. She also in…
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/5/14/closing-argument…
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“made his rival xAI a for-profit company.”
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“Musk had a three-year statute of limitations to sue, and OpenAI's lawyers said his August 2024 lawsuit came too late”
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“four-page term sheet in 2018 discussing OpenAI's plan to seek outside investments.”
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“Musk is accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump in China.”
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“The nine-person jury is expected to deliberate on Monday.”
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“U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and lawyers in the case will return to court that day”
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“OpenAI competes with AI companies such as Anthropic and xAI”
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“is preparing for a possible initial public offering that could value the business at $1 trillion.”
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“Microsoft has spent more than $100 billion on its partnership with OpenAI, a Microsoft executive testified.”
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“Musk's xAI is now part of his space and rocket company SpaceX”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.