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Judge also severely reprimands Musk for saying "Musk doesn't want money in the trial"
Musk absent from trial due to accompanying Trump on China visit... Lawyer apologizes to jury
The final arguments in the lawsuit between Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, dubbed the 'AI Trial of the Century', concluded in an all-out brawl, with both sides calling each other 'liars' and 'amnesiacs'.
Stephen Mollo, the attorney representing Musk, launched a concentrated attack on Altman's lack of credibility during the final arguments of the trial held on the 14th (local time) at the Oakland Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as reported by AP, Reuters, and U.S. business channel CNBC.
He cited the testimony of five witnesses, including Musk and former OpenAI directors and executives, who called Altman a 'liar', emphasizing that "Altman's credibility is a direct issue in this case."
He argued that unlike Altman, Musk wished for his funds not to be used for personal gain, stating, "Elon wanted OpenAI to remain a charity. He didn't want the non-profit organization to disappear."
In response, OpenAI's lawyers criticized Musk, saying he "suffers from selective amnesia" for not remembering past discussions about OpenAI's commercialization in which he participated.
They pointed out, "Musk wanted to transform OpenAI into a for-profit company that he could control," adding, "However, the other co-founders refused to hand over control of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) to one person, and even more so refused to hand it over to Musk."
They further scoffed, "Musk may have the 'Midas touch' in some fields, but not in AI," and "The only thing he can do to succeed in the AI field is to come to court."
As the war of words continued between both sides, attorney Mollo was reprimanded by the court for stating that Musk did not seek money in this lawsuit.
Judge Rogers warned, "(Musk) claimed billions of dollars in unjust enrichment," and ordered him to retract the statement or abandon the claim for billions of dollars.
In this lawsuit, Musk has demanded the dismissal of OpenAI executives Altman and Brockman and the return of $134 billion (approximately 198 trillion won) in unjust enrichment they acquired to the OpenAI Foundation, the non-profit parent organization.
Legal representatives for both sides agreed to correct the statement before the jury.
The nine-member jury plans to deliberate on the 18th.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is presiding over the trial, and representatives from both sides will reappear in court on the day of the deliberation to discuss the direction of OpenAI's restructuring and the scale of compensation if Musk wins. If Musk loses, no special measures will be taken.
Meanwhile, Musk was absent from the final arguments today as he was part of U.S. President Donald Trump's delegation to China.
Attorney Mollo conveyed the news of Musk's absence, who is the plaintiff and a witness in this lawsuit, while appealing to the jury's sincerity by stating, "This lawsuit is something he is very passionate about."
Judge Rogers had previously ordered Musk to be on 'standby' to appear in court on short notice if necessary.
A court spokesperson stated they did not know if Musk had received travel permission from the judge, and Musk's legal team did not respond to related inquiries.
The defendants, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, all appeared in court today, creating a contrast.
Outside the courthouse today, a protest was held, criticizing both sides for harming the environment, labor, and people's mental health.
About 10 protesters held signs such as 'Stop replacing healthcare workers with chatbots' and 'No future for workers in a Musk-Altman fascist world,' accusing the two CEOs of developing AI not for the benefit of humanity but for their own greed.
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