Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to take the stand in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI.
According to News AZ, Nadella will appear before the court on Monday, May 11, where he will be questioned about internal emails that allegedly show how Microsoft helped fund OpenAI’s transition from a philanthropic research group into a major for-profit artificial intelligence company.
Nadella’s testimony will come before OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whose appearance in court, expected on Tuesday or Wednesday, will mark one of the final stages of a closely watched federal trial in Oakland, California.
The case has exposed internal tensions among prominent Silicon Valley engineers, investors, and executives during the years leading up to the 2022 launch of ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that brought OpenAI global attention.
Musk’s lawsuit accuses OpenAI of abandoning its original nonprofit mission and misusing approximately $38 million in founding donations, which he says were intended to support charitable AI research but instead helped build a company now valued at more than $850 billion.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is seeking to force OpenAI to return to its original nonprofit structure, a move that could significantly affect its competitive position in the global AI race against companies such as Anthropic, Google, and China’s DeepSeek.
OpenAI, however, argues that Musk voluntarily left the organization after failing to secure majority control and later became a direct competitor through his own AI company, xAI.
