Musk tried to control OpenAI and nearly hit us, says Greg Brockman in court
Follow UsGreg Brockman recalled a tense 2017 meeting where disagreements with Elon Musk nearly turned physical.
Musk’s lawsuit challenges OpenAI’s shift from a non-profit mission to a profit-focused structure.
Brockman said Musk dismissed early AI models and raised concerns about his approach to AI leadership.
The legal battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has taken a new turn as the tense moment from the early days of OpenAI has come to light during an ongoing legal battle. During the trial that’s going on in a courtroom in Oakland, Greg Brockman co-founder of OpenAI brough up a heated 2017 meeting that nearly turned physical. His testimony pointed to disagreements over control, leadership approach, and the long-term vision for artificial intelligence. The case also raises wider questions about OpenAI’s shift from a non-profit model to a profit-driven structure, an issue that Musk has challenged in court as being against its founding purpose.
SurveySpeaking before a federal jury, Brockman said tensions rose sharply after he rejected Musk’s proposal to take greater control of the company. He recalled feeling alarmed by Musk’s sudden change in behaviour. According to Brockman, the situation escalated so quickly that he briefly feared a physical confrontation. Musk had been an early supporter of OpenAI, backing its mission when it was launched in 2015.
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Furthermore, the legal battle concerns how Musk feels about the change in direction from non-profit towards profit of the OpenAI company. Musk is claiming that such behaviour does not align with the initial purpose of helping mankind. He has brought a lawsuit in court in an attempt to revert things back to normal.
Brockman also shared concerns raised within the founding team at the time. He suggested that Musk lacked patience and did not fully understand the long-term challenges of artificial intelligence. Referring to co-founder Ilya Sutskever, Brockman said there was a belief that Musk would not spend enough time learning the technology in depth.
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Another point raised during the hearing involved Musk’s early reaction to an AI system that later evolved into ChatGPT. Brockman said Musk dismissed it as weak and claimed that even children online could do better. These remarks, he added, increased doubts within the team about Musk’s leadership in AI development.
The testimony also touched on personal gestures. Brockman claimed Musk gifted Tesla cars to some team members, including himself and Sutskever, during discussions about equity in the company’s for-profit arm. He said the timing made the gesture feel like an attempt to gain influence. The case continues to raise larger questions about how AI companies should balance public interest with business goals.
