A dramatic account from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman is drawing fresh attention to the bitter power struggle behind one of the world's most influential AI companies — and to his claim that Elon Musk's behavior during a 2017 meeting left him fearing the confrontation could turn physical, according to The New York Times.
At the center of the testimony in Musk v. Altman is a fight over who should control OpenAI as it moved toward a for-profit structure capable of raising billions. Brockman's account suggests the dispute was not only about money, but also about whether any one person should wield outsized control over the company behind ChatGPT.
Brockman testified Tuesday in federal court that he and fellow OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever met with Musk in August 2017 to discuss the company's future.
Brockman testified that the meeting got off to a good start, explaining that Musk had given his co-founders Teslas as gifts. In return, Sutskever had brought a Tesla-related painting for Musk.
The discussion focused on creating a for-profit arm to attract the massive investment OpenAI leaders believed would be needed to develop artificial intelligence. The mood in the room allegedly shifted when Musk demanded majority control of the company.
Brockman said he and Sutskever objected to giving Musk a majority of the shares and instead proposed a shared-control model.
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Brockman testified, per the Times, that Musk considered the proposal before getting up and walking toward Brockman. "I thought he was going to hit me. I thought he was going to physically attack me," Mr. Brockman told the court.
Musk then allegedly said, "When will you be departing OpenAI? I will withhold funding until you decide what you are going to do," before grabbing the painting and storming out.
According to NBC News, Brockman also described another moment that shaped his view of Musk's fitness to lead an AI lab. He testified that when an early OpenAI employee showed Musk a chatbot prototype, Musk dismissed it as "stupid" and said that "kids on the internet could do better."
Brockman said the employee was absolutely crushed and nearly left AI research, even though that early work later became the basis for ChatGPT. "He knows rockets, he knows electric cars, and I believe he did not — and does not — know AI," Brockman said of Musk, per NBC News.
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The testimony offers a window into how internal power struggles at OpenAI may have shaped the products now embedded in everyday work, search, and communication. The case also highlights how decisions about corporate structure, board oversight, and investor influence can affect the direction of tools such as ChatGPT and Codex.
Musk is suing OpenAI, accusing Brockman and chief executive Sam Altman of breaching the AI lab's founding contract, pivoting from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity, according to The New York Times. The Tesla CEO and richest man in the world is seeking $150 billion in damages.
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