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Judge sternly rebukes Musk's remark, "Musk doesn't want money in the trial"
Musk absent from trial due to accompanying Trump on China visit... Lawyer apologizes to jury
The closing arguments in the lawsuit between Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, dubbed the 'AI trial of the century,' concluded with an all-out brawl, each side accusing the other of being a 'liar' and an 'amnesiac.'
Stephen Mollo, the attorney representing Musk, launched a concentrated attack on Altman's lack of credibility during the closing arguments of the trial held on the 14th (local time) at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division, as reported by AP, Reuters, and U.S. business channel CNBC.
He cited the testimony of five witnesses, including Musk and former OpenAI directors and executives, who called Altman a 'liar,' emphasizing that "Altman's credibility is a direct issue in this case."
He argued that unlike Altman, Musk wanted his funds not to be used for personal gain, stating, "Elon wanted OpenAI to remain a charity. He didn't want the non-profit organization to disappear."
In response, OpenAI's lawyers criticized Musk, saying he "suffers from selective amnesia" for not remembering past discussions about OpenAI's commercialization in which he participated.
They pointed out, "Musk wanted to convert OpenAI into a for-profit company that he could control," adding, "But the other co-founders refused to hand over the leadership of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) to one person, and even more so refused to hand it over to Musk."
They further mocked, "Musk may have the 'Midas touch' in some areas, but not in AI," and "The only thing he can do to succeed in AI is to come to court."
As the exchange of words between both sides continued, attorney Mollo was reprimanded by the court for stating that Musk did not want money from this lawsuit.
Judge Rogers warned, "(Musk) claimed restitution of unjust enrichment worth billions of dollars," and ordered him to retract the statement or abandon the claim for billions of dollars.
In this lawsuit, Musk has demanded the dismissal of OpenAI executives Altman and Brockman and the return of $134 billion (approximately 198 trillion won) in unjust enrichment acquired by them to the OpenAI Foundation, a non-profit parent organization.
The legal representatives for both sides agreed to correct the statement before the jury.
The nine-member jury plans to deliberate on the 18th.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is presiding over the trial, and representatives from both sides will reappear in court on the day of deliberation to discuss the restructuring of OpenAI and the amount of compensation if Musk wins. If Musk loses, no special measures will be taken.
Meanwhile, Musk was absent from the closing arguments today as he was part of U.S. President Donald Trump's delegation to China.
Attorney Mollo conveyed the news of the absence of his client and witness in this lawsuit, yet appealed to the jury's sincerity, stating, "This lawsuit is something he is very passionate about."
Judge Rogers had previously ordered Musk to be 'on call' to appear in court on short notice if necessary.
A court spokesperson stated that they did not know if Musk had received travel permission from the judge, and Musk's legal team did not respond to inquiries.
In contrast, all defendants, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, attended the trial today.
Outside the court today, a protest was held, accusing both sides of harming the environment, labor, and people's mental health.
About a dozen protesters held signs such as 'Stop replacing healthcare workers with chatbots' and 'No future for workers in a Musk-Altman fascist world,' criticizing the two CEOs for developing AI out of their own greed rather than for the benefit of humanity.
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