Ars Technica AI | April 30, 2026

Elon Musk spent three days testifying as the first witness in his trial against OpenAI, alleging that the company abandoned its mission and should be blocked from taking the company public later this year. However, Musk stumbled at least seven times in ways that possibly put his chances at winning in jeopardy. Most notably: 1) OpenAI's lawyer William Savitt managed to get him to make several concessions over his own lawyer's objections. 2) He lost a fight to keep xAI's safety record off the table, calling his reputation as a supposed AI savior defending OpenAI's mission into question. 3) He repeatedly appeared dishonest, as OpenAI's lawyer showed documents contradicting his testimony. 4) He appeared disingenuous when confronted with calling OpenAI's safety team "jackasses." 5) He admitted that he didn't know what "safety cards" are, even though his own AI firm issues them. 6) He testified that he never loses his temper before raising his voice at OpenAI's lawyer. 7) His lawyers failed to keep his ties to Donald Trump off the record, with the judge agreeing to hear discussions that might further discredit Musk's testimony. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers had to reproach Musk, instructing him to stop being sarcastic and evasive. Meanwhile, Altman "largely remained stone-faced" throughout the proceedings.

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