Business · Fortune Technology
Musk vs. Altman: Burning Man, a ‘diary,’ and a trial almost no one thinks Musk can win
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The most expensive frenemy fallout in tech history began Monday, in a federal courtroom in Oakland.
Key facts
- After over a decade of partnership, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for more than $130 billion, alleging that Altman and OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman swindled him and betrayed
- In September 2017, Brockman wrote: “This is the only chance we have to get out from Elon … Financially, what will take me to $1B?” Accepting Musk’s terms, he added, would “nuke” both “our ability to choose” and “the economics
- Musk, who donated about $38 million of OpenAI’s earliest funding, wants the judge to unwind the for-profit conversion, force Altman and Brockman out of their roles, and direct any damages to OpenAI’s
- To counter, it appears that an equally hurt Altman will bring up all the dirt he has on Musk, including a Burning Man trip and a former OpenAI board member who is also the mother of four of Musk’s
Summary
After over a decade of partnership, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is suing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for more than $130 billion, alleging that Altman and OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman swindled him and betrayed the company’s founding charitable mission. Musk, who donated about $38 million of OpenAI’s earliest funding, wants the judge to unwind the for-profit conversion, force Altman and Brockman out of their roles, and direct any damages to OpenAI’s nonprofit arm rather than to himself. To counter, it appears that an equally hurt Altman will bring up all the dirt he has on Musk, including a Burning Man trip and a former OpenAI board member who is also the mother of four of Musk’s known 14 children.