Musk flew to China during OpenAI lawsuit despite warnings of a potential recall
Kyiv • UNN
Elon Musk arrived in China during a $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI. He accuses Sam Altman of violating the company's non-profit mission.
Billionaire Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, while his $150 billion civil lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was being heard in a California court in the US, UNN reports, citing CBS News.
Details
The question of whether Musk, the world's richest man, should have traveled abroad during the trial may be raised in court.
At the conclusion of Musk's testimony in late April, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of San Francisco informed Musk that he could be recalled to court to provide additional testimony at the request of OpenAI's lawyers.
"Mr. Musk, you are not excused from your duty to testify, but you may leave for today. Okay?" Rogers told the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and owner of X, according to a transcript of his testimony.
Since the proceedings are taking place in a civil court, Musk, despite being a party to the case and a witness, was not required to be personally present throughout the entire trial. The judge did not give Musk a direct order to remain in the immediate vicinity of the courthouse or to refrain from traveling.
On Tuesday, Musk boarded the presidential aircraft Air Force One and flew to China overnight. He and several other business leaders were invited to Beijing along with U.S. President Donald Trump, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The final day of testimony in the OpenAI case was Wednesday, and closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday, meaning Musk will almost certainly be absent from both sessions.
Addendum
Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman co-founded the company as a non-profit organization in 2015. Musk has since left OpenAI and is now suing Altman, alleging that he violated the non-profit's original mission and is prioritizing profits. Musk seeks to remove Altman from the company's board of directors, return the company to non-profit status, and transfer millions to OpenAI's charitable arm.
OpenAI claims that Musk is seeking to strengthen his own company, xAI.