这一场审判于4月27日在加州法庭开庭，被形容为人工智能史上最大的法庭戏剧，在一组9人的陪审团面前展开并持续吸引公众目光。舆论叙事主要围绕两位彼此敌视的科技巨头对决，以及Musk在开庭问卷中被部分候选陪审员斥为“贪婪、种族主义、恐同的垃圾”“世界级的混蛋”。

诉讼核心聚焦于OpenAI在2015年至2023年之间的组织和资金结构变化：公司起初为非营利机构，Musk在最初几年提供约3800万美元；2023年在ChatGPT发布后，微软向其营利部门投入100亿美元。该金额约为Musk早期投入的263倍，核心争议在于这是否构成“变相诱导”并使企业利益偏向Altman及其阵营。

OpenAI与微软辩称并无维持慈善定位的明确承诺，且Musk的指控更像“醋酸葡萄”情绪，因为OpenAI估值上升后，Musk成立了X.AI。三年追溯时效是其核心抗辩之一；庭审中Musk承认曾支持营利化，且未能与Altman在现场形成直接对峙，法官还限制双方社交媒体发言，预示争议更多会集中在后续法庭环节。

The trial opened in a California courtroom on April 27 and was billed as the largest courtroom drama in AI history, drawing public attention to a bitter feud between two billionaires before a nine-member jury. The public narrative has centered on control of OpenAI, with juror questionnaires containing extreme descriptions of Musk such as “a greedy, racist, homophobic piece of garbage” and “a world-class jerk.”

The case focuses on the structural and funding shift after OpenAI’s 2015 launch: it began as a nonprofit with Musk contributing about $38 million in its early years, then moved gradually toward a for-profit model. Musk left the board in 2018; by 2023, after ChatGPT, Microsoft invested $10 billion, about 263 times Musk’s early support, and Musk claims this became a bait-and-switch that benefited Altman and his allies.

OpenAI and Microsoft argue there was no binding promise to keep the company charitable and describe the suit as sour grapes after OpenAI’s value rose and Musk founded X.AI, while also citing a three-year statute-of-limitations bar. In testimony, Musk acknowledged backing the for-profit turn but had no direct face-to-face showdown with Altman, who had already left the courtroom, and a social-media curfew imposed by the judge suggests most conflict may continue through later courtroom proceedings.

Source: Alpha trial

Subtitle: OAKLAND Two unloved billionaires slug it out in court

Dateline: The Economist May 2nd 2026