Musk v. Altman: Shivon Zilis testifies her relationship with Musk didn't influence her duties as an OpenAI board member; she left in 2023 after Musk started xAI
"When the father of your babies starts a competitive effort and starts recruiting from OpenAI there is nothing to be done," …
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Shivon Zilis: Musk Relationship Didn't Sway OpenAI Board Role
Zilis testified that having children with Musk didn't compromise her OpenAI board duties before she departed in 2023.
Shivon Zilis took the stand in the Musk v. Altman trial and pushed back hard on conflict-of-interest claims. Her testimony: having a personal relationship with Elon Musk — including children together — did not compromise her role as an OpenAI board member.
Zilis left the OpenAI board in 2023. The timing wasn't random. Musk had just launched xAI, a direct competitor, and started poaching OpenAI talent. Her own words paint the picture bluntly: when the father of your kids launches a rival AI company and recruits from your organization, there's really no path forward on that board.
The testimony cuts to one of the central tensions in the case — whether Musk maintained improper influence over OpenAI through personal connections while simultaneously building a competing venture.