Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO lawsuit opens in court today! Elon Musk snaps: fraudster Altman

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI’s century-defining lawsuit officially went on trial this Monday (April 27) at a federal court in Oakland, California. Without waiting for the proceedings to begin, Musk launched a barrage of attacks at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on his own community platform X, accusing him and President Greg Brockman of “stealing a charity,” and once again humiliating him with the label “Scam Altman” (fraudster Altman).

Musk rages: Scam Altman

This back-and-forth sparring from afar was first sparked by OpenAI’s official news account, @OpenAINewsroom. Before the hearing, OpenAI posted that it was “eager to lay out the facts in court,” arguing that “the truth and the law are on our side,” framing Musk’s lawsuit as “baseless, driven by jealousy, and intended to hinder a competitor,” and vowing to cross-examine Musk in front of a California jury.

As soon as the message went out, the pro-Musk camp account @XFreeze promptly published a long rebuttal, restating OpenAI’s “original sin” narrative: in 2015, Musk personally funded it and leveraged his connections to recruit top AI talent, founding the organization with the goals of “pure non-profit,” “research open-sourcing,” and “for the benefit of all humanity.” Afterward, the team “wanted to get paid,” pushed Musk out, and quietly turned the entire organization into a profit-making machine, yet still continued to repeat the talking point that “the mission hasn’t changed.”

The account emphasized that Musk never held a stake in OpenAI, and this lawsuit “won’t put a single extra dollar in Musk’s pocket.” Any favorable proceeds would be returned to the non-profit parent entity.

Musk himself then upped the ante, directly naming the two defendants. In his post, he wrote, “Scam Altman and Greg Stockman (a jab at Brockman) stole a charity—just like that.” He accused Brockman of getting the “hundreds of billions of dollars” worth of stock for himself, while Altman, using the Y Combinator model, took a slice from dozens of OpenAI-related deals, and also previewed that after the lawsuit ends, Altman would be “rewarded with hundreds of billions of dollars in stock again.”

Musk also elevated the case to the level of public-interest charitable giving. He wrote, “The core issue is very simple: Do you want to set a legal precedent in the United States for ‘looting a charity’ there? If you do, you will permanently destroy charitable giving in the United States.” He reiterated that back then, they could have established OpenAI as a for-profit company, but instead chose to found it, fund it, and recruit key talent in the name of the public good—“and then they stole that charity.”

Case background: A $134 billion claim, showdown ahead of the IPO

In this $134 billion lawsuit, Musk accuses OpenAI, Altman, and President Brockman of violating the promises made at the time and failing to ensure that the AI lab would “permanently maintain its non-profit status.” The case is being heard by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, and will be divided into two phases: liability determination and damages. The nine jurors will have no replacement CNBC candidates; the jury’s verdict will be advisory only, and the final decision will be made by the judge.

The timing of the lawsuit is especially sensitive. Musk is preparing to push SpaceX toward going public, and market expectations are that it will be one of the largest IPOs in history. OpenAI, meanwhile, has pinned its IPO timeline to the fourth quarter. Analysts noted that if Musk wins, OpenAI’s big IPO plans could face uncertainty, and the positions of Altman and Brockman could also be at risk—effectively paving the way for Musk’s own AI company, xAI. The list of witnesses includes Musk, Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft CEO Nadella.

OpenAI’s side, however, insists that Musk himself also promoted the move to for-profit at the time. He chose to leave because he couldn’t obtain full control, and the entire lawsuit is “driven by jealousy, regret over leaving OpenAI, and an intent to suppress a competitor.” After jury selection, the case will move into the trial process; the liability phase is expected to run until mid-May.

This article Musk and OpenAI CEO lawsuit starts today! Elon Musk fires back: Scam Altman first appeared on the Chain News ABMedia.