OpenAI boss Sam Altman says Musk wanted control of company

"Altman rejected Elon Musk's claim that he betrayed the company's founding mission to serve the public good. Altman said it was rather Musk, the world's richest person, who was interested in seizing control of the artificial intelligence startup. Asked by his lawyer on Tuesday whether Musk opposed the for-profit plan, Altman said: "Quite the opposite." He alleged that Musk demanded a huge controlling stake."

""An early number that Mr Musk threw out was that he should have 90% of the equity to start," Altman told the jury. "It then softened, but it always was a majority." He said he was "extremely uncomfortable" with ceding majority control even as Musk lessened his demands. Musk even said he might pass the company onto his children, Altman said, when asked what would happen to OpenAI upon his death."

"OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, was founded as a nonprofit in 2015 by several entrepreneurs, including Musk and Altman. It established a for-profit subsidiary in 2019. In the civil lawsuit being tried in a federal court in Oakland, California, Musk accuses Altman, OpenAI president Greg Brockman and the company itself of abandoning its original mission to benefit humanity and instead become a for-profit corporation."

"OpenAI counters that Musk, who is now also an AI player with xAI and its Grok chatbot, is motivated by petty revenge. They claim Musk only filed the lawsuit after having failed to seize majority control of OpenAI's commercial entity. Altman says Musk wanted OpenAI majority control."

Sam Altman testified in a federal civil trial in Oakland, California, where Elon Musk accuses Altman, Greg Brockman, and OpenAI of abandoning a mission to benefit humanity and shifting toward a for-profit corporation. Altman rejected Musk’s claim that he betrayed the founding mission, saying Musk was interested in seizing control of the AI startup. Altman stated that Musk supported the for-profit plan but demanded a controlling stake, initially suggesting 90% equity and later softening the figure while still seeking majority control. Altman said he was uncomfortable ceding majority control and described Musk’s suggestion about passing OpenAI to his children as a “hair-raising moment.”

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