Musk Threatened to Make Altman and Brockman ‘Most Hated Men in America’

Benzinga reported Sunday that Elon Musk sent a threatening text to OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman just days before the two sides faced off in a San Francisco federal courtroom. The message warned that Brockman and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman would become “the most hated men in America” by the end of that week.

A Last-Minute Settlement Attempt Turned Hostile

The text was sent on April 25, according to court filings. Musk had reached out to gauge interest in a settlement, suggesting both parties might stand down. Brockman responded by proposing each side drop its claims. Musk’s reply was blunt. “By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America,” he wrote. “If you insist, so it will be.”

OpenAI’s legal team moved swiftly to introduce the message as evidence. Their argument is straightforward. The text, they contend, reveals Musk’s true motivation for filing the lawsuit. Rather than a principled grievance, they say it shows a desire to damage a commercial rival.

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Background: A $150 Billion Lawsuit Over a Betrayed Mission

Musk is suing OpenAI, Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft for $150 billion. He claims the company abandoned its original nonprofit mission after he contributed $38 million in early seed funding. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is presiding over the case in Oakland.

During his own testimony last week, Musk accused OpenAI of attempting to “steal a charity.” Under cross-examination, however, he acknowledged that his own AI company, xAI, had “partly” used OpenAI’s models to help train its Grok assistant. That practice is explicitly prohibited under OpenAI’s terms of service. OpenAI’s legal team has framed the entire suit as a competitive attack dressed up as principle.

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Prediction Markets Turn Against Musk as Testimony Continues

Traders on Kalshi have cut Musk’s odds of winning to 38%, down sharply from 56% the prior week. Polymarket places his chances even lower, at 33%, reflecting a higher bar for what qualifies as a plaintiff victory under that platform’s resolution criteria. A separate Polymarket contract assigns a 70% probability that no settlement is reached before a verdict is delivered.

Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella are all scheduled to testify later in May. The trial is being watched closely as a defining moment for the AI industry’s governance debate.

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