Why did Sam Altman get fired? Microsoft CEO reveals new details in Elon Musk vs OpenAI trial

The mega trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI took another dramatic turn after testimony of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in the court on Monday.

The trial centers on Elon Musk’s allegations that OpenAI’s leadership, including Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, and Microsoft tricked him into funding a non profit that was later converted into a for-profit venture for their own benefits.

In the recent testimony as reported by the Wall Street Journal, Nadella talked about the brief period related to Sam Altman’s ouster from OpenAI.

Nadella testified that during Altman’s brief ouster, his primary goal was to ensure Altman and his team didn't join Google or start a rival company.

“That was obviously very concerning to me. Given all of that competition, I just wanted to make sure we could hang on to the band that created all this technology,” said Nadella.

Talking about the level of influence Microsoft exerts over the startup due to its billions of dollars of investments in the startup, the CEO denied that the company controls OpenAI. He described the relationship as a "strategic relationship” based on intellectual property rights.

Nadella testified, “It had nothing to do with control. It had to do with just the strategic partnership which gave us the rights to the I.P. — but it’s not about control.”

During testimony evidence showed the Microsoft CEO was consulted on new board members after Altman’s reinstatement.

Nadella also shed light on Musk’s silence like despite having his phone number, the CEO of SpaceX never reached out to raise concerns during Microsoft’s multi-billion dollar investment round in 2010, 2020, and 2023.

Ilya Sutskever’s testimony–OpenAI co-founder

Besides Nadella, the co-founder of OpenAI also testified on Monday and revealed the real reason behind the firing of Sam Altman.

Ilya Sutskever confirmed he previously told the board that Altman had a "consistent pattern of lying" and created a toxic environment that hindered the development of safe AI.

n: Sutskever confirmed he previously told the board that Altman had a "consistent pattern of lying" and created a toxic environment that hindered the development of safe AI.

The "Hail Mary": Despite his role in the firing, Sutskever signed the employee petition to bring Altman back to prevent the company’s total destruction, admitting the firing process felt "rushed."

When asked by an attorney of Musk, “You told the board that Altman exhibits a consistent pattern of lying, undermining his execs and pitting his execs [against] one another, right?”

“Yes,” said Sutskever.

According to Sutskever, though he had a role in the firing of Altman, he signed the employee petition to bring Altman back to prevent the company’s total collapse. He admitted that the decision to fire Altman felt rushed.

Sutskever unveiled his OpenAI stake is worth roughly $7 billion. He also revealed he rejected a $6 million annual salary from Google in 2015 to co-found OpenAI.