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OpenAI trial day 2 takeaways: Musk testifies OpenAI was created as nonprofit to counter Google

Cnbc · · 413 words · By Lora Kolodny; Jeffrey Kopp; Samantha Subin; Ashley Capoot; Ari Levy
Legal Dispute Corporate Governance AI Ethics and Nonprofit Status
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/28/openai-trial-elon-musk-sam-altman-live-updates.h…

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fact_checkFact-Check Results

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

check_circle Corroborated 9
schedule Pending 2
info Single Source 1
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“Elon Musk took the stand during the second day of proceedings in the trial between the SpaceX CEO and Sam Altman.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent news sources (Al Jazeera, NBC Washington, and NY Post) confirm that Elon Musk took the stand for a second day of testimony in the trial against Sam Altman.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Elon Musk has taken the stand for a second day in a landmark United States trial against Sam Altman
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/4/29/musk-accuses-alt…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Elon Musk took the stand for the second day Wednesday in the landmark trial that pits the world's richest person against Sam Altman
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/el…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Elon Musk said he was a “fool” to trust Sam Altman with the future of OpenAI in his second day of testimony in the bombshell trial over the future of the artificial intelligence giant.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/29/business/musk-and-openais-lawy…
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“Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers oversaw the proceedings in federal court in Oakland, California.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results, including The Guardian, confirm that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers presided over the trial in a federal courthouse in Oakland, California.
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web search NEUTRAL — Judge Gonzalez Rogers has presided over a number of high-profile cases.Gonzalez Rogers has run a tight ship since the Musk v Altman trial began in late April. She starts proceedings on the dot at 08:0…
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx214rnlpn7o
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web search NEUTRAL — Judge Gonzalez Rogers has presided over a number of high-profile cases.Gonzalez Rogers has run a tight ship since the Musk v Altman trial began in late April. She starts proceedings on the dot at 08:0…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx214rnlpn7o
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web search NEUTRAL — Jury selection began at a federal courthouse in Oakland with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers presiding. As she began, she assured the dozens of prospective jurors that this trial wasn’t going to be highl…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/27/elon-musk…
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“Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman were also in attendance.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results from The Guardian and other sources explicitly state that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman attended the trial proceedings.
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web search NEUTRAL — Gregory Brockman is an American entrepreneur and software engineer. He is co-founder and president of OpenAI.Brockman met with Sam Altman and Elon Musk, and led the recruiting of the OpenAI founding t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brockman
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk, Altman and Brockman attended the trial.He also wants OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit, with Altman and Brockman removed as officers and Altman removed from its board. Musk's claims include breach…
https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/musk-lawyer-say…
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web search NEUTRAL — The trial centers on Musk accusing Silicon Valley’s fastest-rising upstarts, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, of deceiving and swindling him by founding OpenAI as a non-profit in 2015 and then converting…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/09/elon-musk…
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“Musk is accusing OpenAI, Altman and Brockman of reneging on their vow to keep OpenAI a nonprofit.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (CBS News, The Guardian, and Google News) confirm Musk's allegation that OpenAI, Altman, and Brockman reneged on the promise to keep the company a nonprofit.
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web search NEUTRAL — Sam Altman stole a charity, Elon Musk says as OpenAI trial begins. 2 days ago. By Louisa Clarence-Smith.From what I can tell, Elon Musk just stepped on his own toes at the trial, making it all about h…
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — Sam Altman, con man, or Elon Musk, sore loser? The core of Musk’s suit effectively accuses Altman of swindling him with the promise that OpenAI would operate as a nonprofit entity focused on safety an…
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/26/musk-altm…
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk alleged in his civil lawsuit that OpenAI, Altman, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman reneged on the AI company's founding agreement by prioritizing profit over a promise to keep OpenAI as a nonpr…
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-sam-altman-openai-tri…
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“Musk previously sought up to $134 billion in damages personally, but is now asking for "all ill-gotten gains" to go to the OpenAI charity.”
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Web search results confirm Musk previously sought $134 billion in damages but amended his lawsuit to request that 'ill-gotten gains' be returned to OpenAI's nonprofit arm.
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web search NEUTRAL — On Tuesday, Elon Musk amended his lawsuit that accuses OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, of abandoning its mission, clarifying that any ill-gotten gains recovered should be returned to the AI firm’s cha…
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/to-beat-altman-i…
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk's lawyer: "they stole a charity." OpenAI's: "he quit and sued when they succeeded."Musk took the stand as the first witness, renouncing personal damages and pledging any award to OpenAI’s nonprof…
https://thenextweb.com/news/musk-altman-openai-trial-opening…
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk is seeking a jaw-dropping $134 billion and more in damages from OpenAI and its investor Microsoft for allegedly defrauding him by shifting OpenAI’s corporate structure from a non-profit to a…
https://gizmodo.com/musk-changes-openai-lawsuit-so-that-if-h…
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“Musk in 2024 sued OpenAI, Altman and Greg Brockman”
CORROBORATED
Five independent cross-references from CNBC and EuroNews confirm that Musk filed the lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman, and Brockman in 2024.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Musk sued OpenAI, Altman and Brockman in 2024
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/07/open-ai-trial-shivon-zilis-m…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, sued the company, Brockman and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2024
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/04/musk-altman-open-ai-settleme…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — In 2024, Musk filed the lawsuit against Altman, OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and Microsoft over OpenAI’s shift away from its original non-profit structure.
https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/04/29/not-ok-to-steal-a-c…
+ 2 more evidence sources
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“OpenAI established a for-profit subsidiary after Musk left its board in 2018”
CORROBORATED
Confirmed by CNBC and multiple web search results that OpenAI established a for-profit subsidiary after Musk left the board in 2018.
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web search NEUTRAL — OpenAI also argued that Musk had previously supported the creation of a for-profit structure and had expressed interest in controlling OpenAI himself. The countersuit seeks damages and legal measures …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk, who stepped down from OpenAI’s board in 2018, has been critical of the company in recent years.OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary a year after Musk’s departure, allowing it to raise money fr…
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-leads-97-4-21315415…
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web search NEUTRAL — After Musk left the board in 2018 and Altman became CEO, OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary to attract funding from Microsoft and other investors. Altman is now working to transition the subsidiar…
https://www.sfchronicle.com/tech/article/sam-altman-rejects-…
+ 1 more evidence source
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“Musk claims that his $38 million worth of contributions to the company were used for unauthorized commercial purposes.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Business Insider and MIT Technology Review, report Musk's claim that his $38 million in contributions were used for unauthorized commercial purposes.
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web search NEUTRAL — Last week, Musk took the stand, alleging that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman had deceived him into donating $38 million to the company. He claimed that they’d promised to maintain…
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/08/1137008/musk-v-a…
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web search NEUTRAL — Molo also emphasized that Musk provided $38 million in initial funding to OpenAI and was involved in strategy development and talent recruitment, stating, "Without Musk, OpenAI would not exist." OpenA…
https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/05/01/judge-tells-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk was back on the witness stand in his civil trial against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman.Musk's money manager, Jared Birchall, testified about Musk's charitable donations....Musk made $38 mil…
https://www.businessinsider.com/takeaways-elon-musk-sam-altm…
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“Musk on Tuesday was the first witness called to testify in the trial.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent cross-references from Flipboard confirm that Elon Musk was the first witness called to testify in the trial.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Elon Musk spent three days testifying as the first witness in his trial against OpenAI.
https://flipboard.com/topic/news/snap-ceo-praises-ai-for-wri…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Elon Musk spent three days testifying as the first witness in his trial against OpenAI.
https://flipboard.com/topic/news/elon-musk-gets-testy-on-the…
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“He got the idea after an argument he had with Google co-founder Larry Page, who called Musk a "speciesist for being pro-human," he testified.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the claim describes a specific testimony, the provided evidence for claim 9 consists of general Wikipedia and X (Twitter) profiles for Elon Musk and does not contain the specific quote or event regarding Larry Page calling him a 'speciesist'.
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk co-founded and leads Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company. As the co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon leads all product design, engineering and global manufacturing of the company's…
https://www.tesla.com/elon-musk
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2009 · AI morality should be grounded in durable principles like being maximally truth seeking, enabling human agency, freedom of thought + humility under uncertainty Instead of inheriting the …
https://x.com/ElonMusk
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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, SpaceX, X, and xAI. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world sin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk
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“Musk's lead trial lawyer, Steven Molo, delivered the opening statement for the Tesla and SpaceX CEO.”
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“OpenAI lawyer William Savitt gave the opening statement for the AI company, Altman and Brockman.”
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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.