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The trial\u2019s outcome could sway the balance of power in AI, and jury selection starts on Monday.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Published On 27 Apr 2026<\/span>27 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Technology tycoons Elon Musk and Sam Altman are poised to face off in a high-stakes trial revolving around the alleged betrayal, deceit and unbridled ambition that blurred the bickering billionaires\u2019 once-shared vision for the development of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n The trial, which is scheduled to begin on Monday with jury selection, centres on the 2015 birth of ChatGPT maker OpenAI as a nonprofit start-up primarily funded by Musk before evolving into a capitalistic venture now valued at $852bn.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The trial\u2019s outcome could sway the balance of power in AI, breakthrough technology that is increasingly being feared as a potential job killer and an existential threat to humanity\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n Those perceived risks are among the reasons that Musk, the world\u2019s richest person, has cited for filing a lawsuit in August 2024 that will now be decided by a jury and US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California.<\/p>\n The civil lawsuit accuses Altman, OpenAI\u2019s CEO, and his top lieutenant and a cofounder, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company\u2019s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology. The lawsuit alleges they shifted OpenAI into moneymaking mode behind his back.<\/p>\n The bitter legal fight may come down to a few pages in one executive\u2019s personal diary.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the only chance we have to get out from Elon,\u201d\u00a0wrote<\/a> Brockman in the autumn of 2017. \u201cIs he the \u2018glorious leader\u2019 that I would pick?\u201d<\/p>\n Brockman\u2019s diary entry is part of the thousands of pages of internal documents revealed in court.<\/p>\n Musk said the defendants kept him in the dark about their plans, exploited his name and financial support to create a \u201cwealth machine\u201d for themselves, and owe damages for having conned him and the public.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n