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This is CNBC's live coverage of the fourth day of the trial between Elon Musk and Sam Altman in Oakland, California. Read day 3 coverage here.
Elon Musk took the stand on Thursday as the trial in his lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman continued into its fourth day.
OpenAI's attorney, William Savitt, cross-examined Musk for several hours on Wednesday, and the two men clashed repeatedly. Musk accused Savitt of lying and asking misleading questions that were "designed to trick" him. His cross-examination is expected to last for another hour on Thursday.
Musk sued OpenAI, Altman, and Greg Brockman, the company's president, in 2024, alleging that they went back on their commitments to keep the artificial intelligence company a nonprofit and to follow its charitable mission. He claims that the roughly $38 million he donated to seed OpenAI, a company he co-founded, was used for unauthorized commercial purposes.
Once Musk is done testifying on Thursday, his attorneys will call Jared Birchall, who manages Musk's billions at his family office, as their next witness. Brockman and Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, could also be called to the stand.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is overseeing the proceedings from federal court in Oakland, California
CNBC's reporters are covering Thursday's proceedings from the courtroom, as well as from CNBC's bureaus in San Francisco and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Before jurors entered the courtroom, Musk's lead attorney Steve Molo asked Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to clarify what a key expert witness, Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley Stuart Russell, will be permitted to discuss on the stand.
"The expert will not testify outside the confines of their report and anything disclosed during their deposition," the judge said, making a quip that "Despite the movies, we don't have big surprises at trials."
Molo argued that Russell should be able to discuss the possibility that artificial intelligence could cause "extinction" or climate catastrophes, because the researcher had alluded to these in a paper.
Raising his voice, Molo implored the judge, "We all could die! We all could die as a result of artificial intelligence!"
The judge noted there is irony that Musk, despite these risks, "is creating a company in the exact space," as OpenAI.
"I suspect there are plenty of people who do not want to put the future of humanity in Mr. Musk's hands. But it doesn't matter. We are not going to get into those issues," the judge said. "The question here is about whether there was a breach of charitable trust. This is not a trial on the safety risks of artificial intelligence."
Musk just entered the courtroom and sat down at a table with his lawyers. He is wearing a black suit with a black tie.
Altman and Brockman are also here. They are both wearing blue suits.
I just took my seat inside the courtroom. Lawyers, other reporters and members of the public are still filing in.
There's no sign of Musk, Altman or Brockman yet.
Musk will square off with OpenAI's lawyer, Savitt, again on Thursday.
The pair butted heads repeatedly during Musk's cross-examination on Wednesday. Musk accused Savitt of lying and trying to trick him.
When Savitt said he was asking Musk a simple question, for example, Musk retorted, "Your questions are definitionally complex, not simple. It is a lie to say they are simple."
After the court recessed on Wednesday, Savitt expressed his frustration with Musk to the judge. He said it had been difficult to get him to answer questions.
"That is the challenge of all litigants," Gonzalez Rogers responded.
Musk testified for roughly five hours on Wednesday. Here are the main ideas he discussed.
In October, OpenAI completed a recapitalization that cemented its structure as a nonprofit with a controlling stake in its for-profit business.
OpenAI briefly considered transitioning into a completely for-profit company in 2024, but it changed its plans after it received pushback, including from Musk.
The company launched its for-profit subsidiary after Musk left the board in 2018.
Musk testified that OpenAI's for-profit arm has become the "main event," and that it's taken the money, talent and resources away from the nonprofit.