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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took the stand yesterday in Musk v. Altman, the chaotic<\/a>, embarrassing<\/a>, and yet deeply illuminating<\/a> lawsuit \u2014\u00a0filed against Altman by Elon Musk, the world\u2019s richest man \u2014 that\u2019s been gripping Silicon Valley for the past few weeks. As expected, Altman\u2019s testimony, delivered under threat of perjury, was fascinating<\/a> for a number of reasons<\/a>. Among them: the OpenAI CEO\u2019s allegation that, during important meetings, Musk has a habit of\u2026 making everyone look at memes on his phone.<\/p>\n Per New York Times tech reporter Mike Isaac<\/a>, Altman confirmed to the court that there was once a meeting to discuss Tesla, Musk\u2019s electric carmaker, possibly absorbing OpenAI. Which would\u2019ve been a big deal, especially because this whole case is about Musk accusing Altman of turning OpenAI from a non-profit to a for-profit. During this seemingly very important meeting, however, Altman claimed that Musk held up talks by making everyone look at memes with him.<\/p>\n There was a \u201cLONG long period of time with Elon showing us memes on his phone,\u201d Altman told the court. According to Isaac, the court reporter then asked Altman to loudly repeat: \u201cMEMES ON HIS PHONE.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Altman\u2019s ability \u2014\u00a0or alleged lack thereof \u2014 to be \u201cconsistently candid\u201d has been scrutinized by everyone from the former OpenAI board<\/a> to Ronan Farrow<\/a>, this allegation sounds just about right for Musk\u2019s internet-addled brain. This is the guy who, as a 50-something father of more than a dozen kids, was reply-guying<\/a> to Hailey \u201cHawk Tuah girl<\/a>\u201d Welch on X-formerly-Twitter, the platform he was so obsessed with<\/a> that he bought for a mind-boggling price<\/a> (though he did try to wiggle out<\/a> of the deal.) Last year, alongside a \u201cStar Wars\u201d meme, he declared<\/a> that \u201cmemes are the most information-dense form of communication.\u201d<\/p>\n