Inside Musk v Altman OpenAI trial: What you missed?

For three weeks, a California federal courtroom became ground zero for Silicon Valley's biggest grudge match. Elon Musk sued Sam Altman, claiming his former collaborator had "stolen a charity" by abandoning OpenAI's non-profit mission.

But the trial revealed far more than one billionaire's grievance; it exposed how power actually works in the companies that shape global technology. Here are the five key moments of Musk vs Altaman that catch attention among the audience:

The witnesses who contradicted Musk

Elon Musk’s case was built on his word alone. Then the co-founder of OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, took the stand, claiming that he has never come across any such commitment that Elon has made.

Tasha McCauley, a former board member, echoed his testimony. Then it was Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, a company that was a defendant in the same suit and worth billions of dollars.

Altman's character under a harsh spotlight

A New Yorker investigative piece had already been published by Ronan Farrow. Elon Musk’s attorney, Steven Molo, used it against him straight away. His opening cross-examination began with a deceptively simple question: "Are you completely trustworthy?"

Altman responded, "I believe so." Molo seized on the hesitation. "You don't know whether you're completely trustworthy?" he pressed. Altman tried to amend his answer to a flat "yes," but the damage was done. His character remained under a harsh spotlight throughout the trial.

Judge who kept everyone in line

Judge Gonzalez Rogers was a surprising addition to the story and proved herself to be a dictator-like judge who ran the courtroom with such strict laws to give an idea about how the rich were made accountable through the process of law.

Judge Rogers was totally in control of her court. Jurors were allowed two short 20-minute breaks per day but no lunch breaks. This was done with the purpose of keeping the jurors awake and focused at all times.

Musk’s complicated love life that became courtroom drama

The hearing also disclosed Musk’s connection with Shivon Zilis, who was an executive at his Neuralink firm and a member of the OpenAI board.

Musk appeared as the first witness of the trial. He was self-assured, even aggressive at times. However, he became visibly uncomfortable when asked about Shivon Zilis. "We live together, and she's the mother of four of my children," he admitted.

Afterwards, Zilis also gave her testimony. She made a shocking statement that caught everyone by surprise, including veteran court watchers. It was a matter of time before she would become the mother of four of his children.

How power really works in Silicon Valley

The lawyers for Musk characterised Altman as an individual who used his association with Musk to elevate his own importance. In turn, Altman alleged that Musk recommended that his kids take over OpenAI.

The text messages that were revealed during the proceedings provided insight into boardroom battles. Altman's desperation at his sudden firing in 2023 was evident in his text message to a former co-worker: "Still don't want me?" His former co-worker explained how he was getting fired from his position by the CEO of Twitch, whom she dismissively called "rando Twitch guy".