A federal judge had placed Musk on ‘recall status’ in his $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI. This means he could be called back to the witness stand at any moment. Sources told NBC News Musk left without the court’s permission.
The last time Musk was in the California courtroom, on April 30, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers was direct with him before he stepped down: “Mr Musk, you are not excused, but you can leave for the day,” the report added.
Meanwhile, OpenAI’s lawyers had asked that the Tesla boss remain on recall. He apparently took the first half of that sentence and ignored the second.
As per legal experts, recall status doesn’t come with a GPS ankle bracelet. It is up to the judge. A lawyer quietly sorts out before their client books an international flight.
Jeffrey Bellin, a law professor at Vanderbilt, told NBC: “If I were the attorney, I would have made sure that if my witness is subject to recall and he’s left the country, that the judge is OK with that.”
As it turned out, Musk wasn’t recalled. Wednesday was the final day of evidence, closing arguments are set for Thursday, and the jury could return a verdict as early as next week. The practical risk passed without incident.
The trial marks a clash among tech giants, with Musk portraying himself as a defender of ordinary people from the perils of artificial intelligence and Silicon Valley titans who care more about money.
Musk, the world’s richest person, is seeking about $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, a major investor, to be paid to an OpenAI nonprofit. He also wants Altman and Brockman removed from their roles.
