OpenAI is turning to the court of public opinion in its battle with Elon Musk

In a dramatic showdown, OpenAI is engaging in a public relations battle against Elon Musk as they prepare for a pivotal jury trial set for April. The ongoing dispute stems from Musk's departure from the AI organization he co-founded, leading to a flurry of online exchanges between the two parties. Recently unveiled court documents have provided Musk with ammunition to launch accusations against OpenAI on his social media platform, X. In response, OpenAI released a blog post titled "The truth Elon left out," which challenges Musk's narrative with insights from various court materials. The blog claims that Musk sought "full control" over OpenAI, motivated by past experiences that left him feeling vulnerable. Furthermore, it alleges that Musk's proposal to have his children oversee the direction of artificial general intelligence (AGI) left OpenAI's leadership taken aback during discussions about succession planning. These revelations strike at the core of Musk's lawsuit, where he is suing key OpenAI figures, including CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. Musk contends that OpenAI misled him by deviating from its original mission as a nonprofit. He recalls having contributed $38 million to the organization when it was solely a nonprofit entity. Since its inception in 2015, OpenAI has transitioned from a nonprofit-controlled model to a for-profit public benefit corporation, completing this shift in October 2025. Both Musk and OpenAI have yet to respond to Business Insider's requests for comments. Last week, over 100 documents relevant to the lawsuit were made public, including diary entries from Brockman that were uncovered during the discovery phase. One notable entry revealed Brockman's concerns about distancing Musk from OpenAI and the commitment to a nonprofit model, stating, "Cannot say that we are committed to the non-profit... If three months later we're doing b-corp then it was a lie." This diary entry was pivotal in US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ recent ruling, which affirmed that Musk possesses sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.