Overview
- Elon Musk told Sam Altman “You stole a non‑profit” in response to Altman’s posts about canceling a 2018 Tesla Roadster reservation, later adding that the refund was issued within 24 hours.
- Altman replied that he helped build OpenAI into what should be the largest nonprofit, argued the current structure is necessary, and said Musk once pushed for a Tesla takeover with no nonprofit involved.
- Ilya Sutskever’s October 1 deposition describes a 52‑page memo alleging Altman lied and pitted executives against each other, and characterizes the 2023 ouster process as rushed by an inexperienced board.
- Sutskever testified the board briefly discussed a merger in which Anthropic would take over leadership just after Altman’s firing; the talks ended as roughly 738 employees threatened to quit and Altman was reinstated.
- The legal fight continues as court filings surface more details, a judge orders Sutskever to sit for a second deposition, and OpenAI notes its October restructuring leaves the nonprofit Foundation in control of OpenAI Group PBC.