OpenAI President Greg Brockman has offered a revealing account of the tensions that shaped the company’s early days, describing high-stakes disagreements over its future direction.
Speaking on Tuesday, May 5, Brockman said the push to transition into a for-profit structure went beyond financial survival and was linked to Elon Musk’s broader ambitions for interplanetary colonization.
“He said he needed $80 billion to create a city” on Mars, Brockman testified, adding that Musk believed his business background justified a majority stake. “In the end, he needed full control.”
Brockman also recounted a tense breakdown in relations during an August 2017 meeting. After Musk objected to a proposed equity structure, Brockman said the situation escalated quickly.
He claimed Musk “stood up and walked over so fast he was concerned Musk would hit him.” Instead of a confrontation, Musk allegedly “picked up Sutskever’s painting and stormed out,” while threatening to withdraw funding.
As the trial continues, the financial stakes have grown significantly. OpenAI is reportedly planning to spend $50 billion on computing resources in 2026, while Musk is seeking $150 billion in damages to be returned to the nonprofit.
The defense, however, has pointed to Brockman’s own financial ambitions, citing a 2017 diary entry in which he wrote, “Financially, what will take me to $1B?”
