Elon Musk's Team Reveals in Court, Potentially Opening Investigation into xAI's Acquisition of OpenAI

According to Beating Monitoring, on the fourth day of the court trial regarding Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, another dramatic event occurred after the jury left the room. Musk’s long-time financial advisor Jared Birchall was asked about xAI’s leading bid for the assets of OpenAI’s nonprofit entity, stating that the $97.4 billion offer was made to prevent Sam Altman from undervaluing the nonprofit’s assets during OpenAI’s restructuring. The issue arose when OpenAI’s lawyers subsequently argued that Birchall’s understanding of the deal may have primarily come from lawyers, and that his related testimony should be excluded. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers personally questioned Birchall, challenging how he could bring in a $97.4 billion offer while being unable to clarify who determined the valuation and who specifically discussed it. The Verge suggests that Musk’s lawyers proactively brought this topic into the trial, which may inadvertently give OpenAI the opportunity to continue investigating the materials behind xAI’s bid for OpenAI.