Musk’s Court Performance Falls Flat in OpenAI Trial

The first witness in Musk v. Altman was sworn in today, and it was Elon Musk himself. I’ve seen this guy testify before — during his defamation trial, he turned on the charm, played to the jury, and walked away with a not-guilty verdict. This time felt completely different.

Musk looked flat. Adrift, even. The only moments he showed any real energy were when he was patting himself on the back for how much he’d done for OpenAI back in the early days. Which is ironic, given that his entire lawsuit accuses Sam Altman of straying from the company’s original nonprofit mission.

Direct examination is supposed to be a carefully structured story told through questions. You guide the narrative, you make your case clear. But Musk spent a weird amount of time talking about himself. Recounting his own contributions, his own vision, his own grievances. It came across less like a plaintiff building a legal argument and more like a guy who just wanted to vent.

I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve covered enough tech trials to know that this is not how you win a jury over. If the goal was to convince the court that Altman betrayed OpenAI’s founding principles, Musk spent way too much energy making himself the center of the story rather than laying out a coherent timeline of broken promises.

Maybe his legal team has a strategy I’m not seeing. Maybe the best witnesses come later. But for a case that’s been hyped as a defining moment for AI governance, today’s performance felt like a missed opportunity. Musk had the floor, and he used it to brag instead of persuade.

We’ll see how the rest of the trial shakes out, but first impressions matter. And right now, Musk looks less like a crusader for AI safety and more like a guy who’s still sore he lost control of the company he helped start.