OpenAI asks judge to allow Musk settlement message as trial evidence

In short: OpenAI says Elon Musk tried to pressure a settlement days before trial, and it wants the judge to let the court hear the message.

What happened

OpenAI and Elon Musk are in court over Musk’s lawsuit, which claims OpenAI drifted from its original nonprofit mission. OpenAI says Musk contacted OpenAI President Greg Brockman two days before the trial started to “gauge interest” in settling.

According to a court filing, Brockman replied with a simple idea, that both sides should drop their claims and move on. OpenAI says Musk refused and replied with a message that sounded like a threat, saying that by the end of the week Brockman and CEO Sam Altman would be “the most hated men in America,” and adding, “If you insist, so it will be.”

Normally, messages exchanged while trying to settle a case are not allowed as evidence in court. The idea is to let people negotiate freely, like talking “off the record” so they can compromise. OpenAI argues this message should be an exception because it was “coercive rather than conciliatory,” meaning it was meant to pressure rather than resolve.

OpenAI also pointed to a similar situation in Musk’s 2022 Twitter lawsuit, where a “World War III” threat during negotiations was admitted in court under an exception. The judge in the OpenAI case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, is expected to decide soon, possibly before Brockman testifies.

Why it matters

If the judge allows the message, it could shape how the court views Musk’s motives, not just the legal claims. It could also affect how willing people are to send blunt settlement messages in high-stakes tech lawsuits.

Source: Arstechnica