Musk Ally Testifies at Musk vs OpenAI Trial
Shivon Zilis testified on May 6 in Oakland federal court. It was day six of Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and its leaders.
Zilis is a former OpenAI board member and close ally of Musk. She now works as an executive at Neuralink which is another Musk company.
She testified about internal disputes over the future of OpenAI. Those disputes led to the lawsuit.
They included Musk's attempt to recruit OpenAI leader Sam Altman to Tesla. Musk and Altman later had a falling out at OpenAI.
Musk's lawsuit claims Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman broke a founding agreement. He says they turned OpenAI into a for-profit company without permission.
Musk is seeking $134 billion in damages. He also wants both men removed from leadership.
Zilis also testified about Musk offering her sperm donations. She said the offer came in response to her health issues and wish to become a mother.
Zilis is the mother of four of Musk's children. Her relationship with Musk began while she was advising OpenAI.
Key Terms 5
- OpenAI US company that makes AI tools including ChatGPT
- Neuralink Elon Musk's company that develops brain-computer technology
- for-profit A company that runs to make money for shareholders
- founding agreement Original rules set when OpenAI was created as a nonprofit
- damages Money a court orders someone to pay for causing harm