Elon Musk wrote a lot of early checks to a charity. That charity is now one of the most valuable private firms on Earth.
He just took the stand to ask a jury to give it back.
On Wednesday, the jury saw the email. Musk sent it to Sam Altman and Greg Brockman in 2017.
Both men helped start OpenAI. In the email, Musk called himself a "fool" for funding the firm.
He says he wired the money because he thought he was backing a nonprofit. He says Altman and Brockman misled him.
The other side came up Thursday. Musk was asked if he had read a term sheet from Altman.
That term sheet was dated August 31, 2017. It laid out the shift to a for-profit run by a nonprofit board.
His reply: "My testimony is I didn't read the fine print, just the headline."
The test: Was the world's most famous founder confused, or just a smart investor who didn't read the fine print?
Things got testy on Wednesday. During cross, Musk told an OpenAI lawyer the questions were "designed to trick me."
Musk and Altman started OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit. Musk left the board in 2018.
He left to focus on Tesla and SpaceX. OpenAI later shifted to a for-profit run by a nonprofit board.
That move is what the lawsuit is fighting. Musk says the shift broke the deal he funded.
OpenAI says he is bitter about leaving and is using the case to slow a rival.
Musk is not just asking for words from a court. He wants up to $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft.
He also wants new leaders at the firm. And he wants a court order to force OpenAI back to a nonprofit.
That last part is the headline for investors. Microsoft is one of OpenAI's biggest backers.
A forced unwind of the for-profit arm would put Microsoft's huge bet in doubt. It could also hit the value of every share Microsoft owns in OpenAI.
OpenAI is pushing back. The firm says Musk wants to slow a rival and boost his own startup, xAI.
Musk's "fool" line will travel. The term sheet will not.
But the term sheet is the paper that wins or loses the case. If the jury thinks Musk knew what he signed, the suit falls apart.
If the jury thinks he was misled, OpenAI, Microsoft, and the rest of AI all shift at once.
Eight years of paperwork is now in the hands of twelve strangers.
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