Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, world’s richest man and OpenAI’s cofounder, took the stand Tuesday in a high-stakes trial revolving around a bitter feud between himself and former friends Sam Altman and Greg Brockman that could reshape the future development of artificial intelligence.

Elon Musk’s courtroom showdown with Sam Altman got underway here Monday with the start of jury selection in a trial over the billionaire’s accusation that his OpenAI co-founders betrayed a non-profit mission to build artificial intelligence for the good of humanity and not for the money.

CEO Elon Musk has always been championed as being pro-crypto. But a recent reported comment in a court hearing is leaving the crowd puzzled. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, is suing the company for allegedly breaching its founding mission of being non-profit after it struck an investment deal with Microsoft and pivoted toward commercial products.

Tesla spent about $4.8 million on Elon Musk's security in 2025, up from $2.8 million the year before, according to an SEC filing.