The verdict in a more than two-year-long legal battle between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is just one month away. The “lawsuit of the century” also involves the founders of Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, and court records have exposed the true faces of these figures, creating ripples across the industry. On the surface, the dispute centers on the for-profit transformation of OpenAI, which started as a nonprofit. Behind the scenes, however, the decision-making processes of global Big Tech have come to light — including manipulating platform operations to flatter counterparts and deceiving one another.
The Washington Post reported Sunday (local time) that hundreds of documents, including text messages, emails, and diary entries from senior Silicon Valley figures, have been submitted to the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, as part of the Musk-Altman lawsuit. Over approximately four weeks before the final ruling, closing arguments from both sides and the jury’s verdict will take place. Musk is seeking up to $134 billion in damages.
Musk and Altman were comrades who co-founded OpenAI in 2015. However, after conflicts over the for-profit shift, Musk left the company in 2018. In 2024, Musk filed a lawsuit claiming that “OpenAI violated its founding pledge as a nonprofit artificial intelligence (AI) research lab to openly share its technology.” He also argued that Altman and fellow co-founder Greg Brockman conspired to sacrifice him for personal gain, demanding that the two be removed from management and that OpenAI be restored to a fully nonprofit organization.
OpenAI countered, saying, “Musk is trying to crush a competitor of his own AI company xAI,” adding that “out of jealousy, regret over leaving OpenAI, and a desire to derail a competitor, he has harassed OpenAI for years with baseless lawsuits and public attacks.”
While the two publicly criticized each other, Altman sent Musk a text message saying, “You are my hero.” The message came shortly after Musk had publicly expressed his disappointment with OpenAI. Musk claimed that Altman had won him over with flattery only to ultimately betray him, as OpenAI brought up Musk’s use of recreational drugs in court. Altman, on the other hand, explained that he had been sincerely trying to mend the relationship at the time.
Text messages sent to Musk by Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member, drew criticism as “double agent” activity. Zilis asked, “Should I maintain close ties with OpenAI and keep leaking information, or should I keep my distance?” Zilis, who has been in a long-term romantic relationship with Musk, is also the mother of four of his children. OpenAI condemned the conduct, saying, “Leaking internal information while serving on the board was a breach of fiduciary duty and a conflict of interest.”
A text message from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Musk was cited as evidence of a breach of Meta’s platform principles. In February last year, Zuckerberg contacted Musk directly, saying, “DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) seems to be making progress. I’ve directed our team to be on alert to remove content that doxxes or threatens people on your team.” He added, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” The exchange revealed that the two, ostensibly rivals, were in fact cooperating. Critics pointed out that Zuckerberg’s actions were inappropriate given that Facebook and Instagram have promised users freedom of content.
Musk’s personal attacks on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos were also disclosed. In emails exchanged between Musk and Altman in 2016, Musk said he preferred partnering with Microsoft over Amazon, describing Bezos as “a bit of a jerk” while noting that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was not. OpenAI later struck a partnership to use Microsoft’s cloud computing services and received a $1 billion investment.
Andrew Stoltmann, a corporate dispute attorney, predicted “a fierce battle,” saying, “Things will get messy and ugly.”
Some view the lawsuit as a microcosm of the global conflict over leadership in the generative AI market. Citing an industry official in Korea, the Washington Post said, “The debate over OpenAI’s nonprofit versus for-profit structure is a universal issue in AI corporate governance,” adding, “It will also have implications for Korean AI startups in attracting investment and designing governance structures.” Online prediction platform Kalshi lowered Musk’s odds of winning the case from 50% to 34%.
