OpenAI President Greg Brockman wrapped up his courtroom testimony on Tuesday, pushing back against Elon Musk’s narrative regarding the startup’s formative period and related negotiations. Brockman asserted that he never promised Musk any changes to the corporate structure and had never heard such promises made by others. He stressed that OpenAI continues to operate under a nonprofit framework.

«This organization remains a nonprofit,» Brockman stated, highlighting the OpenAI foundation as the most well-funded nonprofit globally.

The legal battle initiated by Musk against the AI firm entered its second week on Monday.

Musk filed the lawsuit two years prior, claiming that OpenAI, Brockman, and CEO Sam Altman breached their duty to maintain the company as a nonprofit. During the first week of testimony, Musk accused Altman and Brockman of attempting to «seize a charitable organization.» Brockman, testifying from a federal court in Oakland, California, over two days, disclosed that Musk had recruited multiple OpenAI staff members to work for free at Tesla for several months.

This work primarily focused on transforming the Autopilot team’s strategy for self-driving technology in 2017.

Throughout his testimony, Brockman addressed questions regarding his financial goals, his grasp of OpenAI’s structure, and Musk’s role in the company, which he helped co-found in 2015 alongside other executives.

In his own testimony last week, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO claimed that his time, funds, and resources were crucial to OpenAI’s achievements, frequently noting his role in attracting top talent.

Brockman countered that while Musk assisted in persuading some employees to join OpenAI, he was a divisive figure for others. «Elon had a reputation of being an extremely hard driver,» Brockman noted, adding that «certain candidates were very attracted» by Musk’s involvement, while «certain candidates were very turned off.» Musk previously testified that former OpenAI researcher Andrej Karpathy joined Tesla only after already planning to leave OpenAI. Brockman stated that Musk later approached him with «an apology and a confession» about the hire, revealing that neither Musk nor Karpathy had informed him of the planned departure beforehand.

Brockman mentioned that Musk was often unavailable for discussions, leading him to rely on employees like Sam Teller and former board member Shivon Zilis as intermediaries.

Brockman also testified that Musk never showed interest in open-sourcing OpenAI’s technology or formally demanding it from the nonprofit, despite Musk’s claims that open sourcing was a core principle.

«Honestly, it was not a topic of conversation,» Brockman said.

Around 2017, Musk, Altman, and Brockman discussed OpenAI’s future, including the possibility of a for-profit subsidiary with Musk holding equity. Musk left the board in 2018, and OpenAI later created a for-profit arm after his departure.

Brockman testified about Musk’s angry reaction when negotiations over equity stakes in the for-profit affiliate began. When the discussion turned to equity, Brockman said «something really changed» in Musk. «Something just shifted in him. You could sense it. He was angry, he was upset,» Brockman recounted. Musk declined the proposal during a face-to-face meeting, then tore a Tesla Model 3 painting off the wall and began to leave the room. Before exiting, Musk demanded to know when he and his co-founders would be leaving the company, and Brockman feared Musk might physically assault him.

OpenAI’s lawyers also asked if Musk ever explained why he wanted control of OpenAI. Brockman said Musk mentioned he «experienced what it was like to not have control and he didn’t like it.» For instance, Musk cited his lack of control at Zip2 as «causing a problem,» and at SolarCity, where «his cousins didn’t have control,» leading Musk to «bail them out.» Tesla acquired SolarCity in a $2.6 billion deal in 2016.

Brockman also stated that Musk expressed a desire for control over OpenAI partly to fund a «city on Mars,» which Musk had valued at $80 billion during their negotiations. SpaceX, which owns xAI (an OpenAI competitor), is targeting a 2026 IPO to raise $75 billion.

On Monday, Musk’s lawyer, Steven Molo, questioned Brockman about his equity stake in OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary, valued at roughly $30 billion. Molo repeatedly noted that Brockman never contributed $100,000—or any cash—to the nonprofit. «I did not end up donating, that is true,» Brockman admitted.

Brockman maintained a journal documenting personal and professional events, and Molo highlighted entries such as one from 2017 reading, «Financially, what will take me to $1B?» Molo questioned whether Brockman cared more about funding the nonprofit or becoming a billionaire. Brockman stated that OpenAI’s mission has «always been my primary motivation,» with fair compensation as a secondary consideration.

Brockman testified that he thought he would have been «good» with $1 billion in shares, and Molo repeatedly focused on this phrasing. When asked why he hadn’t donated the remaining $29 billion of his equity to the nonprofit (now the OpenAI Foundation), Brockman did not provide a direct answer.

The trial resumes at 8:30 a.m. PT on Wednesday. Shivon Zilis, mother of four of Musk’s children and a former OpenAI board member, is expected to testify.