Sam Altman told a federal jury in Oakland, California, on Tuesday that Elon Musk once suggested control of OpenAI could eventually pass to his children as the two men clashed over the future structure and governance of the artificial intelligence company.
Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and chief executive, testified as part of a high-profile lawsuit brought by Musk, who accuses OpenAI and Altman of abandoning the organization’s founding principles by transforming it into a for-profit enterprise.
According to Altman, Musk sought greater authority within OpenAI during internal discussions in 2017 and 2018, including requests for more board seats, the role of chief executive, and proposals to place OpenAI under Tesla.
Altman said Musk believed stronger centralized control would help secure financing and accelerate development of artificial general intelligence, known as AGI.
Altman testified that Musk supported the idea of OpenAI becoming a for-profit company but insisted on maintaining control over the organization.
He told jurors that Musk reacted strongly when discussions arose about ownership and succession within the company.
“A particularly hair-raising moment was when my cofounders asked, 'If you have control, what happens when you die?' He said something like '...maybe it should pass to my children,'” Altman said.
Altman said he and fellow co-founders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever rejected the idea because they believed no single individual should control AGI development.
He also described Musk’s management approach as aggressive, claiming some researchers became demotivated by his leadership style and demands.
Altman said Musk later stopped contributing funding to OpenAI after leaving the organization in early 2018.
The trial has become one of Silicon Valley’s most closely watched legal battles, with Musk seeking to reverse OpenAI’s for-profit restructuring and remove Altman from leadership.
Musk alleges that OpenAI violated its founding agreement and improperly shifted toward commercial interests.
OpenAI and Altman deny the claims and argue Musk understood and supported discussions around a for-profit structure before leaving the company.
Altman testified that Musk later declined an opportunity to invest in OpenAI’s for-profit entity because he would not invest in companies he did not control.
The proceedings are expected to conclude after nearly three weeks of testimony involving several major technology executives.