Elon Musk spent the better part of three days on the witness stand this week in his lawsuit against OpenAI, and it’s already getting messy. Emails, texts, and his own tweets are surfacing in court, and there are plenty more witnesses to come. Musk’s argument against OpenAI? By converting the company to a for-profit model, Sam Altman betrayed the “nonprofit for the benefit of humanity” mission Musk signed up to fund. As Musk keeps reminding the courtroom: “You can’t steal a charity.”
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec and Sean O’Kane break down what’s actually at stake in the courtroom and what to watch for as Altman and others take the stand, plus deals, defense tech, and what Big Tech’s earnings week revealed about the limits of the AI spending era.
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:50 Why one founder is suing Sallie Mae after his startup got acquired
05:56 BMW drops $300M on AI and automotive startups
13:09 This defense startup is building AI to operate military vehicles
19:42 Elon Musk vs. OpenAI: the trial gets messy
27:28 Big Tech is spending billions on AI, but is it worth it?
36:59 Outro
@UnusualThingsaround
May 1, 2026 at 12:23 pm
Musk is right
@augmentos
May 2, 2026 at 1:08 pm
Wrong. In the statement yes. In the facts of the case no. It’s sour grapes. He wanted it for profit
@UnusualThingsaround
May 2, 2026 at 2:20 pm
@augmentosnon profit should stay non profit
@chartblast
May 1, 2026 at 2:55 pm
Altman deserves it.
@augmentos
May 2, 2026 at 1:07 pm
Elon wanted it for profit. Facts
@joygoodnesstruth
May 1, 2026 at 9:58 pm
Must came up with the idea. How cynical of you to suspect that he is guided by self-interest rather than principle. Do you have any idea what would happen to the charitable foundation if he loses?
@augmentos
May 2, 2026 at 1:08 pm
Exactly! 😂 ppl are clueless. MUSK derangement syndrome!! He WANTED IT for profit
@UmarSani-o3d
May 4, 2026 at 7:08 am
You explained this so well, thank you!
@DR-yl5sp
May 4, 2026 at 5:26 pm
Altman is 💯 demon and should never be allowed in a position of power. I hope Elon destroys him!