‘Billionaires versus billionaires’: Inside the bizarre scenes of the OpenAI trial

Artificial intelligence‘Billionaires versus billionaires’: Inside the bizarre scenes of the OpenAI trialThe three-week OpenAI trial had numerous markings of its subjects’ wealth, from an inflatable Elon Musk doll to fancy butt cushions.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Elon Musk arrives to court at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building on April 30 in Oakland, Calif.Benjamin Fanjoy / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 15, 2026, 7:20 PM EDTBy David IngramOAKLAND, Calif. — Six tech billionaires walk into a courthouse …Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.It’s not the setup to a joke. It’s the extraordinary spectacle that played out at a federal court complex over three weeks, as a mass concentration of tech wealth was put on display in a lawsuit brought by the wealthiest tech baron of them all, Elon Musk.The case has now gone to a jury of nine people who are set to begin deliberations Monday morning, but the trial has already illuminated the ways that the federal courts in the United States operate differently for the very wealthy — and the ways in which they operate exactly the same.“This is probably the most contact they’ve had with normal people in 10 years, at least,” said Catherine Bracy, one of many tech industry observers who have attended the trial. She is the CEO of TechEquity, an advocacy organization focused on addressing the inequality created by the tech industry.Elon Musk flashes a thumbs-up in a hallway in the federal court building in Oakland, Calif., on April 29.Godofredo A. Vásquez / APThe trial centers around artificial intelligence startup OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Musk, a co-founder and early donor, alleges that OpenAI betrayed its nonprofit origins when it created a for-profit arm and took money from outside investors, including Microsoft. OpenAI and Microsoft counter that OpenAI is still controlled by a nonprofit, that Musk agreed with them about the nee...