'CEO Sam Altman lied internally about the safety standards for AI models,' a former OpenAI executive testified.

Elon Musk, who was involved in the founding of OpenAI, has filed a legal battle against OpenAI, its CEO Sam Altman, and its president Greg Brockmann, seeking $134 billion (approximately 21.34 trillion yen) in damages, claiming that they 'broke their pledge to maintain the AI research organization as a permanent non-profit.' In video testimony released during the trial, Mira Murati, OpenAI's former CTO and a former CEO, testified that 'Altman lied to executives within the company, causing confusion.'

Mira Murati tells the court that she couldn't trust Sam Altman's words | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/925338/openai-musk-v-altman-mira-murati

In OpenAI trial, former technology chief says Altman sowed 'chaos,' distrust among top executives | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/openai-trial-former-technology-chief-says-altman-sowed-chaos-distrust-among-top-2026-05-06/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

OpenAI was founded in 2015 by Musk and Altman, among others, with the initial concept of developing powerful AI in a way that would benefit all of humanity rather than monopolizing it, in order to compete with giant tech companies. However, around 2017, concerns grew within OpenAI that releasing cutting-edge AI as open source was inherently dangerous. In 2018, Musk proposed using Tesla's supercomputer to build the AI, but Altman and others refused to hand over management control to Musk. This led to a decisive conflict between Musk and OpenAI, and it is believed that Musk left OpenAI and cut off funding.

Then, in 2024, Musk sued OpenAI in San Francisco Superior Court, claiming that 'OpenAI is a non-profit organization that develops AGI (artificial intelligence for general purposes) as open source, and although it was founded 'for the benefit of humanity,' in reality, OpenAI has become a de facto closed-source subsidiary of Microsoft, the world's largest technology company.' Musk asked the court to issue an order that would force OpenAI to revert to being a non-profit organization that develops open-source software, and prohibit Altman and Brockmann from using OpenAI or its assets for financial gain, or for the benefit of Microsoft or other organizations.

Elon Musk sues OpenAI, developer of ChatGPT, claiming it's a 'de facto subsidiary of Microsoft' - GIGAZINE

This lawsuit was initially dropped but later revived , and in April 2026, Musk sought $134 billion (approximately 21.34 trillion yen) in damages from OpenAI, alleging that the company violated its commitment to 'permanently maintain its AI research organization as a non-profit.'

Elon Musk accuses CEO Sam Altman of breaking his commitment to maintain OpenAI as a non-profit organization and demands $134 billion in damages - GIGAZINE

During the trial, a video testimony in which Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, answered questions was released on May 6, 2026. Murati stated, 'While at OpenAI, I was doing incredibly difficult work in a very complex organization. I asked Sam to show leadership, provide clear guidance, and not hinder my ability to perform my job,' and then accused Altman of making her job more difficult.

As a specific example of something that 'made the job difficult,' Murati cited a security issue surrounding one of OpenAI's GPT models. When Murati spoke with Altman about the security review, Altman said, 'I checked with the legal department, and it's not necessary to go through the security review committee.' However, when Murati later checked with Jason Kwon, an OpenAI executive who was serving as legal counsel at the time, there was a discrepancy between Altman's statement and what Kwon had said. As a result, Murati decided to have the model approved by the security review committee as a precaution.

When asked, 'Was Mr. Altman telling the truth when he made that statement?', Murati replied 'No,' testifying that Mr. Altman was lying.

There have been other instances where Altman has been accused of lying within the company. Co-founder Ilya Satskeber stated in a deposition that Altman 'shows a consistent pattern of lying, undermining executives, and creating animosity among them.' Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner also said in a 2024 podcast that 'OpenAI executives shared evidence with the board that Altman was lying and manipulating people in various situations.' In addition, Jeffrey Irving, a former OpenAI employee who worked under Altman for two years, stated in an X post that Altman had a tendency to lie and manipulate people.

Third, my prior is strongly against Sam after working for him for two years at OpenAI:

1. He was always nice to me.
2. He lied to me on various occasions
3. He was deceptive, manipulative, and worse to others, including my close friends (again, only nice to me, for reasons)

— Geoffrey Irving (@geoffreyirving) November 21, 2023

Murati also testified that 'what concerned me was that Sam would say one thing to one person and the exact opposite to another,' claiming that Altman was creating confusion and distrust within the company. Murati also agreed with the accusation that Altman was lying to create conflict among executives and undermining Murati's authority as CTO.

In addition to Musk, Altman, and Brockmann, several other individuals are scheduled to testify in court, including Ilya Strikeber, former chief scientist and co-founder of OpenAI, and Siovon Gillis, who testified under oath that she has four children with Musk. The Verve, an international media outlet, is providing real-time updates on the court testimonies.

Altman vs. Elon for the future of OpenAI | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/tech/917225/sam-altman-elon-musk-openai-lawsuit