OpenAI’s president testified on Tuesday that Elon Musk supported transforming the artificial intelligence startup into a for-profit company, but wanted full control in part to help him raise $80 billion to colonize Mars.
Greg Brockman’s testimony came during the second week of a California trial that could shape the future of OpenAI, the company that triggered the generative AI boom following the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
In court, Brockman said OpenAI is planning to spend $50 billion on computing resources in 2026.
Elon Musk has accused OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, of misleading him into donating $38 million to its nonprofit arm, only for the organisation to later abandon its charitable mission and evolve into a for-profit company benefiting its founders.
Brockman said the Tesla and SpaceX founder made it clear that he wanted to lead OpenAI if such a restructuring took place.
According to Brockman, Sam Altman was the only other candidate under consideration.
He also described a particularly tense meeting in which Musk reportedly said he deserved a majority stake in OpenAI, citing his business experience.
Brockman added that Musk said he intended to use that ownership stake to help fund the creation of a self-sustaining city on Mars.
“He said he needed $80 billion to create a city” on Mars, Brockman said. “In the end, he needed full control.”
Brockman added that Musk said he would determine when to give up full control.
He said the August 2017 meeting with Musk began on a positive note.
Musk had recently gifted Teslas to some OpenAI employees in appreciation of their work, and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever reportedly presented Musk with a painting of a Tesla as a gesture of thanks.
However, Brockman said the tone shifted when discussions turned to a proposed equity structure Musk did not agree with.
Musk allegedly became angry and said, “I decline.”
Brockman said Musk suddenly stood up and walked over so quickly that he feared he might be struck.
Instead, Musk reportedly picked up Sutskever’s painting and left the room abruptly, stating that he would withhold further funding until the issues were resolved.
