Musk vs. OpenAI: Inside the courtroom as closing arguments conclude, jury to deliberate

Let's stick with California and this a blockbuster trial pitting two tech moguls against each other, Sam Altman and Elon Musk. And today we heard closing arguments in that case in the Bay Area. The Wall Street Journal is saying the attorneys for Elon Musk and OpenAI began making their final statements, their final pleas to some members there inside the courtroom, closing out a third week of this major trial litigating the past of the AI revolution. Let's be joined right now by Jana Katsuyama, who was inside of that courtroom throughout this trial, including closing arguments. What did we hear today? What was the foundation of some of these statements? Well, they started at 8.30 in the morning and this was really another day of drama. We saw both Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, the CEO and president of OpenAI, sitting there in the courtroom facing the jury. And we were not able to bring cameras inside, but it was very interesting the arguments that they gave on each side for what the jury should decide in this really historic case. A final showdown Thursday in the Musk versus Altman trial. Elon Musk in China on a business trip was not in Oakland's federal court. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, President Greg Brockman and OpenAI attorneys were present for closing arguments. The trial hinges on Musk's accusations that they breached a charitable trust by turning OpenAI into a for-profit subsidiary that gutted the nonprofit Oversight Foundation, and that there was unjust enrichment as Altman and Brockman pursued personal profits. Musk's attorney said in closing arguments that he, Musk, was not opposed to create a for-profit subsidiary to support the nonprofit. In closing arguments, Musk's attorney said Musk donated $38 million, his reputation and connections to OpenAI's nonprofit. Musk left OpenAI in 2018 to start XAI, but kept donating. Musk also says OpenAI breached charity promises by creating a for-profit and Microsoft partnership in 2022, and claims that Altman and Brockman got billions of dollars in unjust enrichment profits. Musk's attorney also said the nonprofit funds are supposed to go to advancing the mission. They're not supposed to make employees and their for-profit partners, Microsoft, rich. Musk's attorney pointed to Brockman's private journal entry that he might make $1 billion from a for-profit OpenAI, and pointed to testimony by former OpenAI board members and staff that Altman was not trustworthy. In closing arguments for OpenAI, defense attorneys accused Elon Musk of selective amnesia, saying, quote, no documents corroborate Mr. Musk's story. And that's because no commitments or promises were made. No restrictions were placed on Mr. Musk's donations. Defense attorneys also cited evidence and testimony from former OpenAI board members, employees, and Musk himself. In their closing arguments, they said, Musk's statute of limitations expired in 2023 or 2024. Musk knew and supported OpenAI's for-profit in 2018, and only sued after ChatGPT was successful. They also claim OpenAI remains a nonprofit foundation, and there was no testimony or evidence that shows any promise for Musk. The defense attorney said, quote, those contributions, remember, were all charitable donations. Mr. Musk helped himself to millions in tax deductions for those donations. They're not seed money. And the attorneys for both sides declined to give any comment. But Andy, one of the things that's been really interesting here is that there are just pages and pages of evidence that include a personal journal from Brockman, that also include text messages late at night between Musk and Altman. So it really is pulling the curtain back on these critical days when, and years, when OpenAI was started, and some of the tension that emerged between these three men who really started off all on the same page and now have come to be at odds on opposite sides of this case. And obviously, this was a three-week-long trial. What could we envision with the jury? Because this is a complicated case. Obviously, some high-profile figures as well. We know it potentially could begin next week. How long could that last? Well, that's really interesting to see how this plays out, because each of the sides was really trying to make it clear, that simplify some of the very technical aspects of this. Now, there is no court tomorrow, Andy. So that is going to be a factor. They have a three-day weekend, and then they'll be going back on Monday to really resume deliberations. And the judge did say they can ask questions of her if they want to send up a note. So they've already had some questions from the jury. I expect there probably will be more as they try and sift through the legal side of this AI case. And my last question, Jana, before I let you go, because when we talk about some of these cases and these tech moguls, Sam Altman and Elon Musk, in this case, they always come off a little non-human-like. Were there any redeeming qualities that either of them come away to the public, to you, a little better off than prior prior? Well, what was interesting is during jury selection, there were a number of jurors who did not express, I guess, good feelings about Musk. Some of them were still seated. And there were a lot of them who didn't really know very much about Sam Altman. So I think both sides have done their best to try and portray the other side as not altruistic. I think those kind of came through the strongest. And then also, just as a note, there were protesters outside almost every single day of this trial who feel like this battle between the billionaires loses some of the focus on what happens to ordinary people in this and AI and the impacts it has on everyone's lives. So very complicated to sift through. You know, there were some moments when I think they tried to humanize both sides. But in the end, I think they were really on attack mode. And that's probably what is going to stick. Yeah, kind of tough to be redeeming in that moment. And obviously, these two billionaires going to head to head, no matter which way it goes, they're probably going to be all right. All right, Jana, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate you here on Live Now.