Elon Musk didn’t hold back on April 27, 2026. While jury selection was getting underway in his big lawsuit against OpenAI, he fired off a bunch of strong posts on X. He kept calling Sam Altman “Scam Altman” and said flat out that Altman and Greg Brockman “stole a charity. Full stop.”
This came at the perfect time. The federal trial in Oakland, California, is finally happening after years of back-and-forth. Musk started the lawsuit in 2024, and now it’s heading to a jury. He’s not asking for money for himself — any winnings would go back to the original nonprofit side of OpenAI.
What Musk Is Really Mad About
Musk’s main point is pretty simple. He claims Altman secretly held a portion of the OpenAI Startup Fund while informing everyone. This includes Congress, who has no personal financial stake in the corporation. Musk wrote: “Scam Altman owned the OpenAI Startup fund while simultaneously lying to the world that he didn’t financially benefit from OpenAI.”
He also cited an ex OpenAI board member who claimed Altman lied for years, disguised the debut of ChatGPT, manipulated safety figures, and even lied to force individuals out. Musk tweeted a video and reminded everyone that Altman had testified under oath that he had “no equity in OpenAI” and was just doing it because he enjoyed the work. Musk considers that an outright lie.
He also told people to read Ronan Farrow’s big New Yorker story from earlier this month. Musk posted: “Calling him ‘Scam’ Altman is accurate. This is very much worth reading.” The article digs into claims that Sam Altman has a habit of bending the truth when it suits him.
Going Back to the Beginning
To understand why Elon is so worked up, you have to look at how OpenAI started. Back in 2015, Musk, Altman, Brockman, and a few others created OpenAI as a nonprofit. The whole idea was to build powerful AI that would help all of humanity, not just make money. Musk says he put in his own cash, brought in top talent, and taught them how to run a successful startup. he said he did all for the public good. He took zero shares on purpose because it was supposed to stay a charity.
But things have changed. In 2019, OpenAI established a “capped-profit” arm to raise significant funding from Microsoft and others. Over time, the for-profit sector seized over. Following massive investment rounds, OpenAI is now valued at over $852 billion. Musk claims that this utterly betrays the original promise.”Scam Altman and Greg Stockman stole a charity,” he wrote. He alleges Brockman received tens of billions of dollars in stock, Altman made money through side transactions similar to the previous Y Combinator model, and the objective was pushed aside.
The Big Lawsuit and What’s at StakeMusk’s lawsuit accuses Altman and Brockman of breaking the original agreement. He wants the court to unwind the for-profit changes, kick them out of leadership, and bring OpenAI back to its nonprofit roots. The trial could last several weeks, with big names like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella possibly testifying.
Jury selection started on April 27, and opening arguments are expected soon. Musk has made it clear: this isn’t about lining his own pockets. He wants to stop what he sees as a dangerous example — that it’s okay to take a charity, flip it into a profit machine, and walk away rich.He put it this way: “Do you want to set legal precedent in the United States that it is ok to loot a charity? If so, you undermine all charitable giving in the United States forever.”
The 2023 Drama That Still LingersA lot of this anger goes back to November 2023, when OpenAI’s board suddenly fired Altman. Musk says the board lost trust because Altman hid important things, including the ChatGPT launch and safety issues. Altman got his job back fast after employees and Microsoft pushed hard, but the damage to trust was done.
Musk sees the whole thing as proof of a deeper problem: a culture where truth gets stretched whenever it’s convenient.Why This Fight Matters NowOpenAI is riding high — massive valuations, new models, huge investments. But Musk keeps saying the company has lost its way.
Meanwhile, his own company xAI is trying to do things differently, with a stronger focus on truth and less secrecy.The trial feels like more than just two rich guys fighting. It’s about whether a nonprofit can be turned into a giant business without breaking the rules, and whether the people running the most powerful AI tools can be trusted.
A Small Thought
This whole drama shows how fast AI has grown and how much money and power are involved. Musk started something he believed would benefit everyone, and now he feels it was taken and twisted. Whether the court agrees or not, these next few weeks of testimony could reveal a lot about what really happened behind closed doors. In the end, it’s not just about who wins the lawsuit — it’s about who we trust to guide AI as it gets smarter and more important in our lives.
