Brockman testifies in the OpenAI trial following Musk's settlement message, with his personal journals referring to the nonprofit's mission as 'a deception.'

      TL;DR: Musk texted Brockman two days prior to the OpenAI trial to discuss a possible settlement, which Brockman countered by suggesting the dismissal of individual claims. Musk's reply threatened to make him and Altman “the most hated men in America.” While this exchange is inadmissible in court, Brockman’s personal journal entries are not, revealing his aspiration for $1 billion and labeling the nonprofit mission as “a lie.” The judge referenced these entries in denying OpenAI's dismissal motion. Brockman is set to testify on Monday, and the trial outcome hinges on whether jurors perceive his journals as personal reflections or as evidence of planned deception.

      Elon Musk contacted Greg Brockman on April 25, two days before the jury was selected, to inquire about settling the case. Brockman suggested that Musk drop all claims against individuals, which Musk rejected, stating, “By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so it will be.” This exchange, revealed in a court filing, was not presented to the jury, as Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers concluded that settlement communications are inadmissible. However, it highlights the contentious nature of a trial that both sides had the option to settle privately but opted for a public confrontation, underscored by their own private writings.

      Brockman is anticipated to testify Monday at the federal courthouse in Oakland, California, where the trial regarding OpenAI’s conversion from a nonprofit to a profit-making entity began last week, with $150 billion at stake. Musk is suing OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Brockman, alleging that approximately $38 million he donated to the nonprofit was misappropriated for commercial activities. He is demanding tens of billions in damages, the removal of Altman and Brockman from their roles, and the reversal of OpenAI’s for-profit transition completed in October 2025, where it became OpenAI Group PBC with a valuation of $852 billion, while the OpenAI Foundation retained a 26% stake and Microsoft held 27%.

      During the first week, Musk's testimony spanned three days, in which he labeled himself “a fool” for investing in OpenAI, accused its leadership of exploiting the nonprofit, and repeatedly asserted: “You can’t just steal a charity.” Under cross-examination, he had contentious exchanges with OpenAI’s attorneys, who probed into his competing AI company, xAI, which he valued at $250 billion in a February merger with SpaceX, while describing it in court as much smaller than OpenAI. Musk acknowledged that xAI had “partly” utilized OpenAI’s technology for training its models, complicating his claim as a wronged benefactor rather than a competitive adversary.

      Brockman’s testimony is expected to be more detrimental to his side than to Musk’s, as the most referenced evidence against OpenAI's leadership comes from Brockman’s personal journals. Entries obtained by Musk’s legal team reveal Brockman pondering: “Financially, what will take me to $1B?” He also characterized his public commitment to OpenAI’s nonprofit ethos as “a lie.” Judge Gonzalez Rogers referenced these entries in January when she dismissed OpenAI's motion to drop the case, noting that they “suggest Brockman intended to deceive” regarding the organization’s charitable purpose.

      OpenAI's lawyers have attempted to provide context for the journals, claiming that the entries are “staged for maximum misrepresentation,” cherry-picked from extensive personal writing that reflects self-reflection, aspiration, and genuine introspection that may appear incriminating when removed from their broader context. The defense will likely argue that Brockman’s journals are candid reflections rather than proof of fraudulent intent. How the jury perceives these entries—as private aspirations or premeditated deceit—will significantly impact the trial's outcome.

      The underlying tension is structural. Brockman has been a leading public advocate for OpenAI’s technical goals and recently claimed that AI now generates 80% of OpenAI’s code. He returned from a prolonged absence in November 2024 as the company’s “builder-in-chief,” responsible for turning Sam Altman’s trillion-dollar vision into reality. His journal entries, written while OpenAI was still formally a nonprofit, indicate that the commercial aspirations he now pursues were anticipated long before the organizational structure was adapted to support them.

      The settlement discussions add complexity to both parties' narratives. Musk initiated contact with Brockman on April 25, indicating awareness of the potential risks of a trial, especially concerning the cross-examination that could reveal xAI’s usage of OpenAI’s work. Brockman’s suggestion for Musk to drop all claims against individuals was unrealistic, as Musk's case relies heavily on the argument that Altman and Brockman individually betrayed the nonprofit’s mission. Eliminating individual claims would have undermined Musk’s lawsuit.

      Musk's subsequent text, threatening to label Brockman and Altman “