Elon Musk told a federal jury Tuesday that artificial intelligence will become smarter than humans as soon as next year, testifying on the opening day of a closely watched trial over his lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman.
The comment comes as courts, regulators and tech companies grapple with who controls rapidly advancing AI systems and how they should be governed.
The case could reshape OpenAI’s future, strain its ties with Microsoft and influence how nonprofit AI research is allowed to transition into for‑profit ventures.
Musk made the remarks while taking the stand in U.S. District Court in Oakland, where he is accusing Altman, OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman and Microsoft of betraying OpenAI’s original nonprofit mission. Speaking about the pace of technological change, Musk said he expects AI to surpass human intelligence soon and warned that instilling values into AI systems before that point is critical, comparing the technology to a child that eventually grows beyond its creator’s control.
Elon Musk Takes the Stand
Musk used his time on the stand to warn that artificial intelligence is advancing faster than many people expect, telling jurors he believes AI could become “smarter than any human” as soon as next year. He said the central challenge is not just technical capability but ensuring that AI systems are imbued with values such as honesty and integrity before they surpass human intelligence.
Comparing AI to raising a child, Musk said creators can guide its development early on but lose control once it matures.
“When the child grows up, you can’t control that child,” he said, arguing that the stakes are especially high as AI systems approach what researchers call artificial general intelligence, or AGI.
Musk testified that OpenAI was founded to counterbalance profit‑driven tech giants and to develop artificial intelligence “for the benefit of humanity,” saying he supported limited profit‑making only as a way to fund research. He told jurors the nonprofit mission was always meant to remain paramount and never be overtaken by commercial interests.
He directly accused Altman of abandoning that understanding, saying his former friend pushed OpenAI toward aggressive commercialization and closer ties with Microsoft, ultimately turning it into what Musk described as a de facto for‑profit company. While Musk said he agreed to a capped for‑profit structure, he argued Altman crossed a line by allowing profit and control to override commitments to transparency, safety and OpenAI’s original public‑interest mission.
Steven Molo, a lawyer for Musk, said his client hoped to “return OpenAI to its charitable mission of developing safe, open-source AI for the benefit of humanity unconstrained by a need to generate profits.”
“This is a case of simple right and wrong,” he told Newsweek. “We’re championing right. We’re highly confident.”
Why the Trial Matters Now
The case carries significant financial stakes for OpenAI, with reputational costs and the financial damages being sought by Musk potentially complicating its push toward Artificial general intelligence (AGI) and the company’s initial public offering that is expected to occur later this year.
“Structural reform” of OpenAI is also “theoretically on the table” if Musk emerges victorious, Professor Julia Powles, executive director of the UCLA Institute for Technology Law and Policy told Newsweek, adding this could comprise leadership changes, a shift in its for-profit vs non-profit structure, or even a breakup of the company.
What To Know
Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside several other Silicon Valley figures.
The company was launched as a non-profit with the goal of advancing “digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return,” according to one of its founding documents.
However, disagreements arose between the pair over its direction in subsequent years, with Musk exiting the company in 2018 and providing no more financing for its operations.
Musk later launched xAI as a rival to OpenAI, which merged with his aerospace firm SpaceX in February.
Following Musk’s departure, OpenAI launched its flagship chatbot ChatGPT, secured billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft and restructured the nonprofit model toward a commercial hybrid structure.
Tensions between the former business partners spilled into the public sphere in 2023, with Musk routinely voicing his disappointment with the company under Altman’s leadership as well as the increasing involvement of its backer Microsoft.
“OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it “Open” AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft,” Musk tweeted early that year. “Not what I intended at all.”
In an interview with CNBC that year, Musk said that he was “the reason OpenAI exists” and still deserved a say in the company’s direction given his early contributions.
“There is disagreement, mistrust, egos,” Altman told The New York Times in 2023. “The closer people are to being pointed in the same direction, the more contentious the disagreements are. You see this in sects and religious orders. There are bitter fights between the closest people.”
Musk’s Claims and OpenAI’s Response
Musk filed the lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman, as well as President Greg Brockman, in 2024.
The Tesla CEO is seeking over $134 billion in damages from OpenAI—which would go toward OpenAI’s nonprofit arm rather than him personally—as well as Microsoft, another defendant that Musk alleges helped in transforming the company into a “get-rich-quick scheme.”
Musk is also pushing for Altman and Brockman to be removed from their leading positions at OpenAI, which he wants to revert to its nonprofit structure.
Microsoft has denied these claims, while OpenAI has called Musk’s lawsuit “baseless,” accused him of a “campaign of harassment,” and said that he in the past supported “a for-profit entity” being “the next phase for OpenAI.”
“Motivated by jealousy, regret for walking away from OpenAI and a desire to derail a competing AI company, Elon has spent years harassing OpenAI through baseless lawsuits and public attacks,” the company writes on a webpage dedicated to the lawsuit and titled “The truth about Elon Musk and OpenAI.”
The pair have kept their spat in the public eye in the weeks and days leading up to the trial.
“They stole a nonprofit. It’s not right,” Musk posted to X on Monday, alongside a 2016 clip of the pair discussing OpenAI’s future.
This followed the OpenAI Newsroom account calling the lawsuit a “baseless and jealous bid to derail a competitor.”
What Happens Next
The trial is set to last around three weeks. Should OpenAI be found liable, Judge Gonzales Rogers has said the court will hear arguments regarding potential remedies, a process that is expected to begin on May 18.
Both Musk and Altman are set to testify during trial, and will spend at least six hours on the stand according to Business Insider. Brockman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella have also been named in a list of witnesses who can be called.
Update 4/28/26, 11:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 4/29/26, 3:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a response from Musk’s lawyer.