Elon Musk tells court he was a "fool" for funding OpenAI

MoneyWatch Elon Musk tells court he was a "fool" for funding OpenAI .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } Updated on: April 29, 2026 / 6:37 PM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google Elon Musk told a court on Wednesday that he was a "fool" for providing funding to launch ChatGPT maker OpenAI.Testifying in a case he brought against OpenAI, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX said he continued to finance OpenAI after receiving assurances from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that the company would remain a nonprofit. However, Musk said he began to have doubts about the company's direction and said he later felt betrayed. Musk alleged in his civil lawsuit that OpenAI, Altman, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman reneged on the AI company's founding agreement by prioritizing profit over a promise to keep OpenAI as a nonprofit dedicated to human progress. The trial, playing out in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, started Monday and is expected to last about four weeks. Court sketch of Elon Musk on the witness stand in a courtroom in Oakland, California. Musk accuses OpenAI of betraying its founding mission to remain a nonprofit dedicated to benefitting humanity. Vicki Behringer Musk contributed $38 million in funding to OpenAI from December 2015 through May 2017. The AI company is now valued at more than $85 billion.Lawyers for OpenAI reject Musk's allegations, saying that company leaders never promised it would remain a nonprofit forever. The company has argued Musk's legal challenge is aimed at undercutting OpenAI's rapid growth and bolstering Musk's xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor.Heated cross-examinationDuring cross-examination, Musk repeatedly pushed back on questions. OpenAI lawyer William Savitt asked about emails Musk wrote before OpenAI's founding in 2015, including whether it would be better to make it a standard for-profit company and whethe...