Microsoft May Owe Musk $25 Billion? Judge Approves Key Testimony, OpenAI Case Heads to Court Next Month

According to 1M AI News monitoring, in the case where OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Microsoft for “violating charitable trust,” the presiding judge ruled on Wednesday that Musk’s damages expert and economist from Berkeley Research Group, C. Paul Wazzan, may testify in court.

Wazzan’s calculation model determines that, based on OpenAI’s valuation of $500 billion, Microsoft’s stake in OpenAI, minus the investment, is worth $115 billion. Of this, the non-profit entity OpenAI contributed up to 29%, and Musk, through early donations and support, should be credited with up to 75% of that non-profit contribution. Based on this, if the jury finds that Microsoft assisted OpenAI in violating its charitable purpose, Microsoft could be liable for up to $25 billion in damages. Microsoft’s lawyer argued that this analysis did not distinguish which profits resulted from Microsoft’s alleged misconduct, but the judge ruled that aiding and abetting would make Microsoft jointly liable for all damages caused to OpenAI, with the jury determining which investments constitute aiding behavior.

The judge also ruled that Musk’s AI safety expert and UC Berkeley computer science professor Stuart Russell may testify about the risks of advanced AI but cannot cite others’ estimates of the probability of catastrophic harm caused by AI. Musk’s side is claiming up to $134 billion in damages, with plans to seek additional punitive damages. Musk promised on X this month that if he wins, he will donate all compensation “without making a profit.” The case is scheduled to be heard on April 28 at the Oakland Federal Court.