TLDR
- Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, provides testimony Monday in Elon Musk’s legal action against OpenAI
- Elon Musk alleges Sam Altman and OpenAI misled him during the company’s transformation from nonprofit to for-profit entity
- Microsoft internal communications from 2018 play a crucial role in the legal arguments
- Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI cofounder, and Sam Altman will appear as witnesses
- Advisory jury scheduled to present findings on liability during the week beginning May 18
The legal dispute between Elon Musk and OpenAI, along with Sam Altman, has reached its concluding phase, with multiple prominent figures scheduled to testify ahead of final statements.
Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft, appeared in a California federal courtroom on Monday, May 11. His appearance represents a pivotal development in proceedings that examine whether OpenAI violated its original commitment to function as a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the public interest.
Musk, among OpenAI’s founding members, alleges that Altman along with OpenAI president Greg Brockman misled him during the company’s transition toward a commercial business model. The defense from OpenAI maintains that Musk aims to hinder the company’s progress while his competing artificial intelligence venture, xAI, works to close the competitive gap.
The prosecution strategy relies heavily on internal Microsoft correspondence dated January 2018. These communications show Nadella expressing doubts about providing OpenAI with discounted access to Azure cloud services and acknowledging uncertainty about the company’s research activities.
Following this email exchange, OpenAI established a for-profit division to attract external funding. Microsoft subsequently invested $1 billion in 2019. The tech giant’s total financial commitment has reached $13 billion, with its current ownership interest valued at approximately $228 billion — representing about 27% of OpenAI’s commercial entity.
Musk’s legal representatives contend this sequence of events demonstrates Microsoft’s active participation in steering OpenAI away from its charitable mission.
Microsoft’s Defense
Microsoft has mounted a strong response prior to Nadella’s court appearance. The company’s attorneys maintain that Microsoft neither participated in nor possessed the ability to facilitate any breach of charitable obligations.
Defense counsel also emphasized that Musk possessed Nadella’s direct contact information yet failed to voice any objections regarding the Microsoft-OpenAI collaboration for a five-year period. Additionally, they referenced a 2020 social media post by Musk on X where he characterized OpenAI as “essentially captured by Microsoft,” suggesting he had awareness of the business relationship well before initiating legal proceedings in 2024.
What Comes Next
Following Nadella’s testimony, Ilya Sutskever, another OpenAI cofounder, will take the witness stand. Sutskever orchestrated the 2023 initiative to oust Altman from leadership, before changing position and supporting his reinstatement. He subsequently departed from OpenAI and has maintained no communication with Altman for more than a year, based on 2025 deposition testimony.
Sam Altman will appear as a witness later during the current week. His credibility and integrity form core elements of Musk’s legal arguments.
Given the civil nature of these proceedings, the outcome will determine liability rather than criminal guilt. The jury’s role involves assessing defendant responsibility and determining appropriate compensation for Musk. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers maintains ultimate authority over any remedial measures.
The advisory jury will present its assessment of wrongdoing during the week commencing May 18.
