A federal judge overseeing Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman admonished attorneys to keep arguments tethered to the claims at issue, saying artificial intelligence itself isn’t on trial. On day three of testimony in Oakland, Musk’s team argued that OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission for private gain; the defense countered that Musk sought control of the venture and contributed far less than his touted $1 billion pledge. Musk acknowledged using OpenAI technology to validate models at his rival startup xAI and denied throttling OpenAI’s reach on X. The four-week trial could influence OpenAI’s governance and its deep ties with Microsoft while spotlighting a broader industry clash over profit, control and AI safety—concerns the court signaled would not distract from the contract and fiduciary questions before the jury.
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