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Sam Altman says Elon Musk’s mind games were damaging OpenAI

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Sam Altman says Elon Musk’s mind games were damaging OpenAI
Published: May 12, 2026 at 17:34 | Source: theverge.com
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AI Close AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All AI News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News Policy Close Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Policy Sam Altman says Elon Musk’s mind games were damaging OpenAI Musk’s departure from OpenAI was a ‘morale boost,’ according to Altman. Musk’s departure from OpenAI was a ‘morale boost,’ according to Altman. by Emma Roth Close Emma Roth News Writer Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Emma Roth May 12, 2026, 5:34 PM UTC Link Share Gift Part Of Live updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAI see all updates Emma Roth Close Emma Roth Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Elon Musk did “huge damage” to the culture of the AI startup. During testimony as part of Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI , Altman said Musk required OpenAI president Greg Brockman and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever to rank researchers by their accomplishments and “take a chainsaw through a bunch.” Altman conceded that this was the management style the Tesla CEO was known for , but that it was incompatible with his startup. “I don’t think Mr. Musk understood how to run a good research lab,” Altman testified when his lawyer, William Savitt, asked about the impact of Musk’s departure from OpenAI on morale. “For a research lab where people need, sort of, psychological safety and long periods of time to pursue an idea, this idea that you constantly have to show your results, and if they’re not good enough on a short period, you’re going to get fired. That really didn’t work for the kind of research we went on to successfully do.” Musk cofounded OpenAI in 2015 with Altman and Brockman, but the billionaire left the startup in 2018. At the time, OpenAI said Musk was leaving to avoid a conflict of interest with the machine learning work done by Tesla, though testimony is painting a different picture . Related Elon Musk’s worst enemy in court is Elon Musk Mira Murati tells the court that she couldn’t trust Sam Altman’s words Altman added that Musk’s departure “was a morale boost in some ways,” as staff members realized they didn’t have to “work this way anymore.” Musk’s lawsuit claims OpenAI abandoned its original mission of benefitting humanity and that Altman and Brockman tricked him into providing funding for the startup. The trial has entered its third week, and we’ve seen testimony from several key figures, including Brockman , former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis , Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella , and former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati . Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. Emma Roth Close Emma Roth News Writer Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Emma Roth AI Close AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All AI Elon Musk Close Elon Musk Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Elon Musk News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News OpenAI Close OpenAI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All OpenAI Policy Close Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Policy Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Tech More in: Live updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAI Sam Altman was winning on the stand, but it might not be enough Elizabeth Lopatto May 12 About 200 people work on safety at OpenAI. Hayden Field May 12 The chair of OpenAI’s safety and security committee said they’ve formally delayed its model releases. Hayden Field May 12 Most Popular Most Popular Google announces its Chromebook successor: the Googlebook Android Auto is now one (screen) size fits all Logitech’s tiny folding mouse improves upon the laptop trackpad Google’s Aluminium OS revealed in 16-minute leaked video The 9 biggest new features in Android 17 The Verge Daily A free daily digest of the news that matters most. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Priva
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  • Follow Follow See All Policy Sam Altman says Elon Musk’s mind games were damaging OpenAI Musk’s departure from OpenAI was a ‘morale boost,’ according to Altman.
Detailed Coverage

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Environmental sustainability and energy efficiency considerations are increasingly important in the context of 'Sam Altman says Elon Musk’s mind games were damaging OpenAI'. The industry is moving towards more sustainable practices and green technologies to address climate change and environmental concerns.

Education and skill development play crucial roles in the adoption and advancement of technologies discussed in 'Sam Altman says Elon Musk’s mind games were damaging OpenAI'. The need for specialized talent and continuous learning programs highlights the importance of human capital in technological progress.
Article Details
Published: May 12, 2026 at 17:34
Source: theverge.com
Original link: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/928861/openai-sam-altman-elon-musk-damage
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