Zilis Testifies: Reveals Musk Proposed OpenAI Merge with Tesla
Elon Musk's partner, Shivon Zilis, testified that Musk had proposed making OpenAI a subsidiary of Tesla, but the idea was rejected by OpenAI executives. Musk is currently suing OpenAI over its transition from a non-profit to a for-profit entity.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 12:24
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 12:31 (7 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 7, 2026 at 22:43 (10h 11m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency, Oakland, May 6, comprehensive foreign report) Tech mogul Elon Musk recently sued OpenAI for allegedly violating its non-profit mission, while OpenAI countered that he was aware of the situation. Musk's partner, Shivon Zilis, testified in court today that Musk had once proposed making OpenAI a subsidiary of Tesla, but this was rejected by numerous senior executives.
The Wall Street Journal reported that tech mogul Elon Musk accused OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of defrauding him of $38 million, which he originally believed was for a non-profit organization. However, he later discovered that OpenAI abandoned its charitable goals and transformed into a for-profit company for self-enrichment.
OpenAI countered that Musk was not only aware of the transformation plan but also supported it, and demanded unilateral control over OpenAI.
Zilis testified in court that "countless" possible structures were proposed at the time, including Musk's suggestion to make OpenAI a subsidiary of Tesla, but it was rejected by Altman, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever.
She also pointed out that when Musk left the OpenAI board in 2018, he was concerned that his electric vehicle giant Tesla would compete with OpenAI for engineering talent in developing AI functions. Therefore, he specifically recruited a top OpenAI AI researcher to join Tesla a few days before his resignation.
Zilis, 40, met Musk through OpenAI in 2016. At that time, she declined to serve as OpenAI's COO and instead served as a volunteer advisor, joining the board in 2020, when Musk had already stopped donating to OpenAI.
OpenAI's lawyers and senior executives stated in their testimony that Zilis was regarded as Musk's confidant and agent, and her opinions were often sought when it was difficult to directly contact Musk.
Although Zilis also works for Musk's Tesla and brain chip company Neuralink, and had children with Musk while serving on the OpenAI board, Musk's team and Zilis herself insist that she acts independently.
However, an OpenAI executive accused Zilis of not disclosing that Musk was the father of her twins during her tenure on the board.
Zilis explained that she found it difficult to maintain long-term relationships due to an immune disease, and Musk proposed donating sperm in 2020 because he wanted everyone around him to have more children. She said that initially, she kept the father's identity secret to protect the children, and only admitted it to the OpenAI board after news reports exposed it in 2022.
This lawsuit has a significant impact on OpenAI and its senior executives. Musk requested the court to remove Altman and Brockman from their leadership positions and demanded that OpenAI's for-profit division compensate OpenAI's non-profit parent company $18 million (approximately NT$580 million). If the court approves any of these, it could completely overturn the company and the entire AI industry.
Zilis left the OpenAI board in 2023 after Musk founded xAI. At that time, they already had three children together, and later welcomed a fourth child.
In his testimony last week, Musk stated that he lives with Zilis and publicly called her his "partner." The two have been photographed attending events together, including a joint appearance at the White House. (Compiler: Zhang Mingxuan) 1150507
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(Central News Agency, Oakland, May 6, comprehensive foreign report) Tech mogul Elon Musk recently sued OpenAI for allegedly violating its non-profit mission, while OpenAI countered that he was aware of the situation. Musk's partner, Shivon Zilis, testified in court today that Musk had once proposed making OpenAI a subsidiary of Tesla, but this was rejected by numerous senior executives.
The Wall Street Journal reported that tech mogul Elon Musk accused OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of defrauding him of $38 million, which he originally believed was for a non-profit organization. However, he later discovered that OpenAI abandoned its charitable goals and transformed into a for-profit company for self-enrichment.
OpenAI countered that Musk was not only aware of the transformation plan but also supported it, and demanded unilateral control over OpenAI.
Zilis testified in court that "countless" possible structures were proposed at the time, including Musk's suggestion to make OpenAI a subsidiary of Tesla, but it was rejected by Altman, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever.
She also pointed out that when Musk left the OpenAI board in 2018, he was concerned that his electric vehicle giant Tesla would compete with OpenAI for engineering talent in developing AI functions. Therefore, he specifically recruited a top OpenAI AI researcher to join Tesla a few days before his resignation.
Zilis, 40, met Musk through OpenAI in 2016. At that time, she declined to serve as OpenAI's COO and instead served as a volunteer advisor, joining the board in 2020, when Musk had already stopped donating to OpenAI.
OpenAI's lawyers and senior executives stated in their testimony that Zilis was regarded as Musk's confidant and agent, and her opinions were often sought when it was difficult to directly contact Musk.
Although Zilis also works for Musk's Tesla and brain chip company Neuralink, and had children with Musk while serving on the OpenAI board, Musk's team and Zilis herself insist that she acts independently.
However, an OpenAI executive accused Zilis of not disclosing that Musk was the father of her twins during her tenure on the board.
Zilis explained that she found it difficult to maintain long-term relationships due to an immune disease, and Musk proposed donating sperm in 2020 because he wanted everyone around him to have more children. She said that initially, she kept the father's identity secret to protect the children, and only admitted it to the OpenAI board after news reports exposed it in 2022.
This lawsuit has a significant impact on OpenAI and its senior executives. Musk requested the court to remove Altman and Brockman from their leadership positions and demanded that OpenAI's for-profit division compensate OpenAI's non-profit parent company $18 million (approximately NT$580 million). If the court approves any of these, it could completely overturn the company and the entire AI industry.
Zilis left the OpenAI board in 2023 after Musk founded xAI. At that time, they already had three children together, and later welcomed a fourth child.
In his testimony last week, Musk stated that he lives with Zilis and publicly called her his "partner." The two have been photographed attending events together, including a joint appearance at the White House. (Compiler: Zhang Mingxuan) 1150507
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.