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Musk Admits No Contract with OpenAI for Donation
30 Apr
Summary
- Elon Musk confirmed no contract governed his initial OpenAI donation.
- He reviewed the corporate charter stating OpenAI was a nonprofit.
- Musk contributed $38 million, not the $100 million he previously claimed.
Elon Musk testified that he did not have a written agreement or contract outlining the terms of his donation to OpenAI when it was founded as a nonprofit over a decade ago. Under cross-examination, he confirmed he reviewed the company's charter, which designated it as a nonprofit entity.
Musk's testimony occurred during the third day of a trial concerning his lawsuit against OpenAI. He claims the company, led by CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman, has abandoned its original mission by pursuing profit and receiving substantial support from Microsoft. OpenAI and Altman counter that Musk's lawsuit is an act of harassment and an attempt to disrupt competition with his own AI venture, xAI.
When OpenAI launched in 2015, Musk pledged up to $1 billion. In 2023, he stated on X he had donated $100 million, but he clarified this week that his actual monetary contribution was $38 million.
Much of Musk's testimony has focused on his 2018 departure from OpenAI's board and the subsequent disagreements as the organization sought funding to rival major AI players like Google. He later founded xAI in 2023, a for-profit company whose chatbot, Grok, has faced controversy. Musk affirmed that his companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, are beneficial to society. He also indicated that xAI has used OpenAI's technology to validate its own AI models.
