TechCrunch AI | April 30, 2026

Elon Musk testified during his trial against OpenAI that xAI trained its Grok language model using OpenAI's models through a process known as model distillation. During model distillation, a smaller model is trained to replicate the behavior of a larger, more capable model. Musk's testimony came on the third day of his four-week trial, where he alleged that OpenAI abandoned its original mission and should be blocked from going public. The admission that xAI relied on OpenAI's models for training Grok has significant implications for the ongoing legal battle and the broader AI industry. OpenAI's lawyers used the testimony to challenge Musk's credibility, arguing that it undermines his claims about xAI's technological independence. The trial continues with both sides presenting evidence about OpenAI's governance structure and its transition to a for-profit entity.

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