Elon Musk sent ominous text messages to Greg Brockman and Sam Altman after settlement request, OpenAI claims

Two days before the trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI began last week, Musk sent a text message to the modeler’s chief and co-founder Greg Brockman. Musk suggested to Brockman that OpenAI settle the lawsuit.

After Brockman responded by suggesting that both sides ditch their suits, the conversation derailed, with Musk responding: “By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. And if you insist, he will be.”

This is all according to a new filing filed by OpenAI’s lawyers on Sunday. The file did not include copies of the text exchange, and most of it was intended to convince the judge why this exchange about settlement talks should be admitted into evidence. However, the judge wasn’t on board with that, ruling the exchange inadmissible, according to TechCrunch reporter Tim Fernholz, who is covering the trial for the site.

But the implication is clear. Musk’s lawsuit seeks to dismantle OpenAI’s for-profit structure, require its technology to be made available to the public, strip Microsoft’s licensing agreement, and force OpenAI to pay general, compensatory, and punitive damages in addition to its attorneys’ fees. After OpenAI’s lawyers publicly shared the “settle or else” text, observers immediately noted that this trial might not be about Musk’s concerns about the safety of AI, but about demanding money for its success while putting pressure on a competitor. This is, essentially, what the OpenAI countersuit alleges.

Meanwhile, the trial continues.