Key Points:
- Greg Brockman testified that Elon Musk wanted to turn OpenAI into a for-profit company in 2017 to raise more money.
- Musk demanded total control of the artificial intelligence startup to help fund his $80 billion dream of colonizing Mars.
- The billionaire currently sues OpenAI for $150 billion, claiming the leadership team abandoned its original charitable mission.
- OpenAI prepares for a massive $1 trillion initial public offering this year and plans to spend $50 billion on computing power.
Elon Musk wanted to transform OpenAI into a for-profit business and demand total control to fund his dream of colonizing Mars. OpenAI president Greg Brockman revealed this detail on Tuesday during his testimony in a California courtroom. Brockman told the court that the billionaire founder sought a massive financial stake to bankroll an $80 billion city on the red planet.
Under questioning from his legal team, Brockman explained that the argument over the corporate structure began back in 2017. At the time, Musk realized that the artificial intelligence startup needed massive amounts of money to build advanced computer models. Musk argued that staying a nonprofit made raising those funds nearly impossible. He pushed the team to change the business model to attract wealthy investors.
Musk made it clear that he intended to lead the newly formed company. Brockman noted that current chief executive Sam Altman stood as the only other serious candidate for the top job. During a tense meeting, Musk declared that his extensive business experience earned him the right to hold a majority stake in the company. He planned to use that equity to build a self-sustaining city on Mars, demanding full control until he personally decided to step down.
Brockman described exactly how that crucial August 2017 meeting fell apart. The gathering actually started on a positive note. Musk had recently gifted Tesla vehicles to several OpenAI employees to thank them for their hard work. In return, former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever painted a portrait of a Tesla for Musk. However, the mood soured quickly when the group discussed an equity structure that Musk disliked.
According to Brockman, Musk suddenly grew furious and said he declined the offer. The billionaire stood up and walked toward Brockman so fast that the company president worried Musk might actually hit him. Instead, Musk grabbed Sutskever’s painting and stormed out of the room. As he left, he threatened to withhold all new funding until the team resolved the equity dispute to his satisfaction.
This courtroom drama stems from a massive lawsuit Musk filed earlier this year. Musk, who helped co-found the startup, sued OpenAI, Altman, and Brockman in 2024. He claims Altman conned him into donating $38 million to the nonprofit. He argues the leaders improperly changed the corporate structure, abandoned their charitable goals, and enriched themselves. Musk now demands $150 billion in damages paid directly to the nonprofit and wants the court to remove Altman and Brockman from their leadership positions.
Lawyers representing OpenAI paint a very different picture. The defense team argues that Musk feels bitter because he left the board of directors before the company achieved its massive success. OpenAI launched its wildly popular ChatGPT chatbot in late 2022, sparking a global frenzy over generative artificial intelligence. The defense also claims Musk filed this lawsuit simply to damage a rival and boost his own artificial intelligence company, xAI, which now operates as part of SpaceX.
The trial exposed the incredible amount of money involved in the artificial intelligence boom. On Monday, Brockman testified that his personal stake in OpenAI is valued at almost $30 billion. He also admitted he owns stakes in two different startups backed by Altman, along with a 1% share in Altman’s family fund. The defense team cited a 2017 diary entry in which Brockman asked himself what financial moves would take him to $1 billion.
OpenAI ultimately restructured itself into a for-profit unit governed by a nonprofit board in March 2019. This change allowed the business to accept money from outside investors. Since that decision, OpenAI has raised more than $100 billion to hire top researchers, purchase computing power, and expand its operations. Brockman told the court that the company plans to spend $50 billion just on computing resources in 2026.
The company continues to grow rapidly as it prepares for a potential $1 trillion initial public offering later this year. Interestingly, Musk might also take SpaceX public this year in a deal that could outshine OpenAI. A recent registration statement showed that the SpaceX board approved a massive reward for Musk in January. The board will give him 200 million super-voting restricted shares if the company reaches a $7.5 trillion market value and successfully creates a permanent Mars colony with at least 1 million people.
