OpenAI Trial: Musk Called AI 'Stupid,' Brockman Says

Deep-Seated Doubts Over Leadership

OpenAI trial testimony from President Greg Brockman has revealed early, fundamental disagreements over Elon Musk’s suitability to lead the artificial intelligence venture. Brockman stated that Musk's dismissive view of their early models raised serious concerns among the founders.

In federal court, Brockman recounted that Musk called a predecessor to ChatGPT “stupid” and suggested that “kids on the internet could do a better job.” These comments led co-founders, including Brockman and Ilya Sutskever, to question Musk’s patience and understanding of the technology's long-term promise.

Brockman testified that his preference for the chief executive role was Sam Altman. He believed Musk, despite his success with rockets and electric cars, did not possess the necessary expertise in AI and was unlikely to dedicate the required time to learn it.

A Clash Over Control and Vision

The testimony shed light on tense 2017 negotiations aimed at establishing a for-profit company to finance the nonprofit’s ambitious research goals. A central point of conflict was whether Musk should serve as CEO and control a majority stake in the new entity.

Musk, who was the company's largest financial backer at the time, has previously testified that he lost confidence in Altman and Brockman as they resisted his proposal for control. This foundational clash ultimately led to Musk departing from OpenAI's board in 2018.

The current lawsuit filed by Musk accuses his former partners of misusing his funds and reputation to launch OpenAI, only to abandon its public-interest mission for personal profit. He is seeking as much as $134 billion and the removal of Altman and Brockman from their posts.

Gisourcess, Goodwill, and Financial Disputes

Financial arrangements and personal gestures from that period are now under intense scrutiny. Musk testified to contributing $38 million to OpenAI through donations and covering office rent, which he later ceased asourceser the falling out.

Brockman also provided context for Teslas that Musk gisourcesed to him, Sutskever, and other employees. He said the cars were delivered amid sensitive negotiations over the equity split for the for-profit arm. Brockman testified that he perceived the gisourcess as an attempt by Musk to have them “feel indebted to him in some way.”