Musk Boosts New Yorker Altman Exposé on X as Trial Starts
Users on X noticed an April 6 post by Ronan Farrow, who co-wrote the New Yorker piece. The post pushed the full investigation. On X's mobile app, a notice appeared stating the post was boosted by @elonmusk, the platform's owner. Boosting lets X subscribers pay extra to increase a post's reach. WIRED checked and confirmed the notice independently.
Musk reposted Farrow's item from his own account that Monday. He added, "Calling him "Scam" Altman is accurate." This referenced a part of the article where it mentioned Musk's nickname for OpenAI's head. Musk continued, "This is very much worth reading."
The New Yorker, X, and OpenAI offered no quick response to WIRED's request for comment.
Background on the OpenAI Lawsuit
Musk's case targets OpenAI, Altman, president Greg Brockman, and Microsoft. It claims the ChatGPT creator drifted from its original nonprofit goal of making artificial general intelligence serve all humanity. Musk helped start OpenAI and put tens of millions of dollars into the group early on. Now he says that money went against his wishes.
OpenAI rejects the accusation. It points out Musk understood the organization would grow into a major company to meet its aims.
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OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit with Musk, Altman, Brockman, and others as key figures. Musk served as a board member and major funder but departed in 2018 amid disagreements over direction. The company shifted to a capped-profit model in 2019 to attract investment for advanced AI work. Products like ChatGPT launched in late 2022, drawing billions in funding, mostly from Microsoft. Musk started xAI in 2023 to compete in AI development.
Trial Opens in Oakland Court
Jury selection began Monday morning in the Oakland federal courtroom. Some prospective jurors said they disliked Musk or AI in general.
The suit, filed earlier, reached this jury trial stage after pretrial steps. Musk seeks to enforce OpenAI's return to nonprofit principles or compensation for his contributions.
Ronan Farrow, known for investigative work on power and influence, teamed with others for the New Yorker story published April 6. It detailed Altman's career, decisions at OpenAI, and interactions with figures like Musk.
The timing links Musk's platform actions directly to his court fight, highlighting ongoing tensions in AI leadership.
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