Zilis Testifies: Musk Once Proposed OpenAI Merge into Tesla

(Central News Agency, Auckland, 6th, comprehensive foreign report) Tech mogul Elon Musk recently sued OpenAI, alleging it violated its non-profit mission. OpenAI countered that he was aware of the situation. Musk's partner, Shivon Zilis, testified in court today that Musk had once proposed to make OpenAI a subsidiary of Tesla, but this was opposed 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. He initially believed OpenAI was non-profit, but later discovered it abandoned its charitable goals and transitioned into a for-profit company for self-enrichment.

OpenAI countered that Musk was not only aware of the transition 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 this was rejected by Altman, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever.

She also pointed out that when Musk left OpenAI's board in 2018, he was concerned that his electric vehicle giant Tesla would compete with OpenAI for engineering talent in developing AI features. 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 the time, she declined to serve as OpenAI's COO, instead becoming a volunteer advisor, and joined the board in 2020, by which time Musk had stopped donating to OpenAI.

OpenAI's lawyers and executives stated in their testimony that Zilis was regarded as Musk's confidante and proxy. When it was difficult to directly contact Musk, her opinion was often sought.

Despite Zilis working for Musk's Tesla and brain-chip company Neuralink, and having children with Musk while serving on OpenAI's board, Musk's team and Zilis herself insisted that she acted independently.

However, an OpenAI executive accused Zilis of not disclosing that Musk was the father of her twins while she was on the board.

Zilis explained that she found it difficult to maintain long-term relationships due to an immune disorder. Musk proposed donating sperm in 2020 because he wanted those around him to have more children. She stated that she initially 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 significant implications for OpenAI and its executives. Musk has asked the court to remove Altman and Brockman from their leadership positions and demanded that OpenAI's for-profit arm compensate its 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 OpenAI's board in 2023 after Musk founded xAI. By then, they had three children together, and later welcomed a fourth.

In his testimony last week, Musk stated that he lives with Zilis and publicly referred to her as his "partner." The two have been photographed attending events together, including a joint appearance at the White House. (Compiled by Chang Ming-hsuan) 1150507

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