Altman: Musk Wanted Full Control of OpenAI's For-Profit Arm

Sam Altman took the stand in the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial and dropped a bombshell. According to his testimony, Elon Musk demanded complete control of a proposed for-profit arm of OpenAI back in 2017.

It gets wilder. Altman testified that Musk even mused about passing control of the entity to his children. Altman said the demand made him "extremely uncomfortable."

The testimony paints a picture of a power struggle at OpenAI's earliest inflection point — the moment the nonprofit began contemplating a commercial future. Musk apparently wanted to be the one steering that ship, solo.

The revelation adds critical context to Musk's longstanding grievances against OpenAI and its leadership. What started as a philosophical disagreement about AI safety now looks a lot more like a fight over who got to own the upside.