A newly filed court document has added fresh drama to the ongoing high-stakes lawsuit between Elon Musk and OpenAI, revealing an alleged text message Musk sent just days before the case went to trial.
According to the filing, Musk reached out to OpenAI President Greg Brockman to explore a potential settlement. When Brockman reportedly suggested both sides drop their legal claims entirely, Musk responded with a sharply worded warning:
“You and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so it will be.”
The message has been submitted as evidence by OpenAI’s legal team, which argues it demonstrates that Musk’s lawsuit is motivated by hostility toward the company and its leadership rather than purely legal concerns.
Background of the lawsuit
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, filed the lawsuit in 2024 against OpenAI, Brockman, and CEO Sam Altman. He alleges the organization abandoned its original nonprofit mission to ensure artificial intelligence benefits humanity, instead shifting toward a profit-driven model.
OpenAI has strongly rejected those claims, arguing that its structural changes were necessary to fund the development of advanced AI systems while still maintaining its core mission.
From nonprofit roots to global AI powerhouse
Since Musk’s departure from its board in 2018, OpenAI has undergone major transformation. It later introduced a for-profit subsidiary and gained widespread global attention following the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. The company is now valued at hundreds of billions of dollars by private investors.
Musk, meanwhile, has launched his own competing AI company, xAI, escalating tensions between the billionaire entrepreneur and his former organization.
What the court says the message shows
OpenAI’s attorneys argue that the newly disclosed text message suggests Musk’s lawsuit is driven by competitive motivations rather than concern over nonprofit governance. They say it is evidence of “motive and bias” and may influence how the court interprets his claims.
Musk’s legal team has maintained that the lawsuit centers on what they describe as OpenAI’s departure from its founding principles and misuse of early funding.
What happens next
Key testimony is expected as the trial continues in federal court in Oakland. Greg Brockman is anticipated to take the stand, where lawyers may question him directly about the alleged exchange.
The case continues to draw global attention as it pits one of the world’s most influential tech figures against the company he helped create, now one of the dominant forces in artificial intelligence.
This story is developing and will be updated as the trial progresses.