A federal judge scolded Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday for constantly posting about his case against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as the trial began this week.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers called Musk to the bench, where she threatened to impose a gag order if he didn’t keep his online criticism of Altman and OpenAI in check.
“How can we get things done without you making things worse outside the courtroom?” the Obama-appointed judge asked.
Musk said he was only responding to OpenAI’s public statements, but he agreed to keep his social media posts regarding the trial to a minimum. Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman agreed to do the same.
“I could have started OpenAI as a for-profit corporation,” Musk wrote on X the day the trial started. “Instead, I started it, funded it, recruited critical talent and taught them everything I know about how to make a startup successful FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD. Then they stole the charity.”
Opening statements from both sides were heard on Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Oakland after jury selection the day before.
A nine-person jury will deliver a verdict, but unlike other trials, the jurors merely serve an advisory role here. The final decision will be determined by Rogers, who often oversees high-profile lawsuits involving technology companies. She decided the outcome of a 2021 antitrust case brought by Epic Games against Apple regarding its App Store policies, ruling against the latter company.
WHAT ELON MUSK’S LAWSUIT AGAINST SAM ALTMAN COULD CHANGE ABOUT THE AI INDUSTRY
Musk is set to testify on Tuesday about his lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI, the artificial intelligence firm they founded together as a nonprofit charity in 2015. The two split less than three years later, after Musk disagreed with the direction the company was going.
In 2019, OpenAI launched a for-profit subsidiary that’s controlled by the nonprofit foundation. By October 2025, OpenAI completed its conversion to a for-profit public benefit corporation.
Musk, who wanted to keep OpenAI a nonprofit organization, accuses Altman of prioritizing monetary gain over the company’s humanitarian mission.
The plaintiff demands that the court remove Altman from OpenAI’s board and roll back its for-profit status. If the judge rules in favor of Musk, OpenAI’s business could be dealt a significant blow, opening the door to other AI industry rivals like Musk’s xAI. Microsoft, which partners with OpenAI, is another defendant in the case.
Musk and Altman will both participate in witness testimony, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati are also slated to take the stand.
The judge and jury may hear from former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis, who is the mother of four of Musk’s children, and three other OpenAI board members who fired Altman in November 2023. Their effort was unsuccessful, however, as he returned to the board days later.
TRUMP WON A COALITION. NOW HE’S TESTING ITS LIMITS
Throughout Monday, Musk posted incessantly about his case against OpenAI. In one post at the top of his feed, the tech mogul claimed “Scam Altman and Greg Stockman stole” OpenAI’s charitable arm by focusing on profit.
“Greg got tens of billions of stock for himself and Scam got dozens of OpenAI side deals with a piece of the action for himself, Y Combinator style. After this lawsuit, Scam will also be awarded tens of billions in stock directly,” Musk posted on X.
Musk is seeking up to $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, with proceeds going to OpenAI’s charitable arm.