Musk and Altman arrive for opening of trial that could reshape AI’s future

OpenAI co-founders Elon Musk and Sam Altman have arrived for Tuesday’s opening statements in a high-stakes trial revolving around a bitter feud between the former friends that could reshape the future development of artificial intelligence.

The bickering billionaires’ early-morning appearances at the federal court in Oakland, California, foreshadow the start of a legal drama that is expected to brim with intrigue and potentially embarrassing details about the two tech moguls.

The jury was elected on Monday and the trial is scheduled to take three weeks.

After the lawyers provide an overview of their respective cases, evidence will begin presenting Musk’s side of a tale chock full of alleged betrayal, deceit and ambition that caused OpenAI to pivot from its founding mission as an altruistic startup to a capitalistic venture now valued at 852 billion dollars (£630 billion).

Musk, the world’s richest person with an estimated fortune of 778 billion dollars (£576 billion), is among the witnesses who will give evidence during the trial.

His presence on Tuesday may mean that he will be among the first people to enter the witness box.

Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, is also expected to give evidence at the trial, along with Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella, one of the technology leaders who helped fund the late 2022 release of ChatGPT, the chatbot that unleashed the current AI boom that has propelled the stock market to record heights.