Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) and Tesla Inc., speaks during an event at the SpaceX launch facility in Cameron County, Texas, U.S., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. Photographer: Bronte Wittpenn/Bloomb
OpenAI’s president testified that Elon Musk supported going for-profit but sought full control to fund an $80 billion Mars plan.
Dig deeper:
President Greg Brockman testified Tuesday Musk supported turning the startup into a for-profit company but wanted full control, in part to raise $80 billion for a plan to colonize Mars.
His testimony came in the second week of a California trial that could shape OpenAI’s future; he also said the company plans to spend $50 billion on computing in 2026.
RELATED: Elon Musk attorney claims OpenAI, Sam Altman ‘stole a charity’ as high-stakes legal fight begins
Musk has accused OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of misleading him into donating $38 million to a nonprofit that later shifted toward profit, and is seeking $150 billion in damages for the nonprofit as well as the removal of Altman and Brockman.
Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018.
What they’re saying:
Brockman described a tense 2017 meeting in which Musk argued he deserved a majority stake in OpenAI because of his business experience and said he would use it to build a self-sustaining city on Mars.
“He said he needed $80 billion to create a city” on Mars, Brockman testified, adding: “In the end, he needed full control.” Brockman said Musk also indicated he would decide when to relinquish that control.
The meeting, held in August 2017, began on a positive note, with Musk having recently gifted Teslas to some OpenAI employees and Ilya Sutskever presenting him with a painting of a Tesla.
RELATED: AI chip facility coming to Austin, Elon Musk announces
But Brockman said Musk grew angry over an equity proposal he disliked, saying, “I decline,” before abruptly standing up, grabbing the painting and leaving, warning he would withhold further funding until the issues were resolved.
The other side:
Musk’s lawyers have sought to portray Brockman as financially motivated in his involvement with OpenAI.
On Monday, Brockman testified that his stake in the company is worth nearly $30 billion and said he also holds stakes in two startups backed by Sam Altman, along with a 1% stake in Altman’s family fund.
Evidence presented in court included a 2017 diary entry in which Brockman wrote, “Financially, what will take me to $1B?”
OpenAI restructured in March 2019 into a for-profit entity governed by a nonprofit, enabling it to raise outside funding, and has since secured more than $100 billion.
RELATED: Jury finds Elon Musk misled investors in $44B Twitter deal
The company has argued that Musk is resentful after leaving its board before its rise and now seeks control, adding that his lawsuit is aimed at supporting his own AI venture, xAI, which merged with SpaceX in February.
What’s next:
SpaceX could also go public this year in an IPO that may surpass OpenAI’s in size.
According to a registration filing, SpaceX’s board in January approved granting Musk 200 million super-voting restricted shares if the company reaches a $7.5 trillion valuation and establishes a permanent Mars colony of at least 1 million people.
The Source: Reuters contributed to this report. The information in this story comes primarily from courtroom testimony and legal filings in an ongoing California trial over OpenAI’s future. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
