On May 14, Musk's lead attorney, Steven Molo, apologized to the jury for Musk's absence during the final arguments held at the federal court in Oakland, California. Molo emphasized that Musk is passionate about the case and that his absence does not indicate a lack of interest.
The trial stems from a lawsuit Musk filed against OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Musk alleges they violated their promise to keep OpenAI a nonprofit organization and gained unfair advantages during the restructuring of the company.
The controversy surrounding Musk's absence has intensified in light of his legal status. CNBC reported that Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers previously designated Musk as 'subject to recall,' meaning he could be summoned back to court on short notice if necessary. Musk had already testified during the first week of the trial.
Typically, witnesses must seek court permission to travel long distances, and it is unclear whether Musk received such permission for his trip to China, according to a court spokesperson. Musk's legal team did not respond to inquiries regarding the court's approval.
Musk joined Trump on his visit to China just before the final arguments began. Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The delegation also included Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.
OpenAI quickly seized on Musk's absence as a point of contention. OpenAI attorney William Savitt stated during the final arguments, "Musk is not here today. My clients are here because they take this matter seriously." Both Altman and Brockman were present in court.
OpenAI's legal team directly countered Musk's claims. Savitt and attorney Sarah Eddy presented evidence, arguing that Musk had previously sought to transition OpenAI into a for-profit entity but only intended to pursue this when he could control the company or merge it with Tesla.
Eddy claimed that Musk's initial donations to OpenAI came with specific conditions, but he failed to provide proof of this. He pointed out that testimonies from Musk's associates and former OpenAI director Siobhan Gilly did not support Musk's claims.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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