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OpenAI President Greg Brockman grilled over embarrassing diary entries while taking charitable donations from Elon Musk: ‘What will take me to $1B?’

Nypost · · 820 words · By Marc Vartabedian
AI Safety and Governance Corporate Ethics vs. Profit Legal Conflict between Musk and OpenAI
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/04/business/openai-president-greg-brockman-grilled-ov…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Name Calling / Labeling 80% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

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

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schedule Pending 7
info Single Source 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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“OpenAI’s president Greg Brockman got grilled by Elon Musk’s lawyer on Monday over embarrassing diary entries from nearly a decade ago”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that Greg Brockman was questioned by Elon Musk's lawyer regarding diary entries from nearly a decade ago.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregory Brockman (born November 29, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is co-founder and president of OpenAI. He began his career at Stripe in 2010, upon leaving MIT, and beca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brockman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The legal affairs of Elon Musk encompass the legal cases involving Elon Musk as the plaintiff, defendant, or concerning his companies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_Elon_Musk
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Samuel Harris Altman (born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI since 2019. Altman attended Stanford…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman
+ 3 more evidence sources
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““Financially what will take me to $1B?” Brockman wrote in the digital journal in 2017, referring to the idea of converting OpenAI to a for-profit entity.”
CORROBORATED
The specific quote 'Financially what will take me to $1B?' and the context of converting OpenAI to a for-profit entity in 2017 are reported across multiple sources.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregory Brockman (born November 29, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is co-founder and president of OpenAI. He began his career at Stripe in 2010, upon leaving MIT, and beca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brockman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — OpenAI Global, LLC is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research organization consisting of a for-profit public benefit corporation (PBC) and a nonprofit foundation, headquartered in San Franci…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's board of directors ousted co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman. In an official post on the company's website, it was stated that "the board no longer has confidence…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Sam_Altman_from_Ope…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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““We’ve been thinking that maybe we should just flip to a for profit,” Brockman allegedly wrote.”
CORROBORATED
The quote regarding 'flipping to a for profit' is explicitly cited in multiple reports regarding the trial and the digital journal.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregory Brockman (born November 29, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is co-founder and president of OpenAI. He began his career at Stripe in 2010, upon leaving MIT, and beca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brockman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — OpenAI Global, LLC is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research organization consisting of a for-profit public benefit corporation (PBC) and a nonprofit foundation, headquartered in San Franci…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's board of directors ousted co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman. In an official post on the company's website, it was stated that "the board no longer has confidence…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Sam_Altman_from_Ope…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Brockman — who, along with CEO Sam Altman, is being targeted by Musk for removal from OpenAI in a federal lawsuit in California”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources and Wikipedia confirm that Elon Musk is seeking the removal of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman in a federal lawsuit in California.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregory Brockman (born November 29, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is co-founder and president of OpenAI. He began his career at Stripe in 2010, upon leaving MIT, and beca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brockman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The legal affairs of Elon Musk encompass the legal cases involving Elon Musk as the plaintiff, defendant, or concerning his companies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_Elon_Musk
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Musk v. Altman is an ongoing lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in which Elon Musk accuses OpenAI and its executives, including CEO Sam Altman, of viol…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk_v._Altman
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Brockman said in his testimony that his stake in OpenAI is now worth nearly $30 billion.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple news sources report that Brockman testified in federal court that his stake in OpenAI is worth nearly $30 billion.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregory Brockman (born November 29, 1987) is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is co-founder and president of OpenAI. He began his career at Stripe in 2010, upon leaving MIT, and beca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brockman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — OpenAI Global, LLC is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research organization consisting of a for-profit public benefit corporation (PBC) and a nonprofit foundation, headquartered in San Franci…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's board of directors ousted co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman. In an official post on the company's website, it was stated that "the board no longer has confidence…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Sam_Altman_from_Ope…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Musk’s attorney Steven Molo grilled Brockman over the explosive journal entries — which first surfaced in court papers in January”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources identify Steven Molo as Musk's attorney and confirm he questioned Brockman about journal entries that surfaced in January.
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk's attorney Steven Molo grilled Brockman over the explosive journal entries — which first surfaced in court papers in January — questioning how they squared with Brockman's repeated ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/04/business/openai-president-greg…
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web search NEUTRAL — Amidst the chaos and high-stakes courtroom trial, OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman acknowledged in the court that his stake in the AI firm is worth nearly $30 billion. As per NBC News, El…
https://www.timesnownews.com/technology-science/nonprofit-or…
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web search NEUTRAL — After Brockman disclosed his stake in OpenAI — which makes him one of the largest individual shareholders in the company — attorney Steven Molo grilled him over a 2017 entry in his personal ...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/musk-s-lawyer-push…
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“US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to step in calling Molo’s questioning “argumentative.””
SINGLE SOURCE
While Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is confirmed as the presiding judge and has intervened in the trial (striking statements), the provided evidence does not specifically contain the quote where she called Molo's questioning 'argumentative'.
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web search NEUTRAL — Maria Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Appointed in 2011 by Preside…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Gonzalez_Rogers
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web search NEUTRAL — At one point, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers moved to strike Musk’s charity statement from the record, saying: “That portion is stricken, we’ve heard it many times.”Musk’s lawyer, Steven Molo, redirecte…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/30/openai-fo…
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web search NEUTRAL — U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California's Oakland Division asked Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to minimize their social media activity during the first heari…
https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/05/01/judge-tells-…
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“Musk pressured OpenAI leaders to cut a deal on the eve of the high-profile court battle – warning cofounder Greg Brockman that he and Sam Altman were about to become the “the most hated men in America.””
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm that Musk texted Brockman warning that he and Altman would become 'the most hated men in America'.
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk texted OpenAI's president and co-founder saying that he and CEO Sam Altman "will be the most hated men in America" if OpenAI doesn't settle the suit.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/04/elon-musk-sent-ominous-tex…
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI President Greg Brockman says Elon Musk messaged him just before they faced off in a trial to talk about settling their fight — and then vowed to ruin his reputation.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-04/openai-s-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Brockman responded with a suggestion that both sides drop their respective claims, to which Musk responded, "By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America.
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-open-ai-trial-offe…
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“Musk... texted Brockman two days before the trial began to “gauge interest in settlement,” OpenAI’s attorneys stated in the filing.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
The provided evidence for claim 7 mentions the texts and the attempt to settle, but the specific detail that OpenAI's attorneys stated this in a filing 'two days before the trial' is not explicitly detailed in the provided snippets.
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“Musk claims that OpenAI and Altman manipulated him into giving $38 million to a nonprofit before it turned into a for-profit entity.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Musk's claim that he was betrayed/manipulated regarding the nonprofit nature of OpenAI and his donations.
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“Musk is seeking $180 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft”
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“He is also asking the court to restore OpenAI’s nonprofit status and remove Altman and Brockman from leadership roles.”
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““I gave them $38 million of essentially free funding to create what would become an $800 billion company.””
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“The trial features a who’s who list of AI luminaries, including Altman, Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella, former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, as well as Shivon Zilis, former OpenAI board member and mother to four of Musk’s’ children.”
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“Shivon Zilis, former OpenAI board member and mother to four of Musk’s’ children.”
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“Musk’s legal team called AI safety researcher Stuart Russell to the witness stand”
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“OpenAI’s legal team in cross examination got answers from Russell that Musk’s legal team paid him $235,000 for his testimony”
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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.