Musk Team Implodes in Court, Potentially Opening xAI Acquisition of OpenAI Investigation Sluice

According to DΛTA Beating monitoring, on the 4th day of the Musk v. OpenAI trial, another dramatic turn occurred after the jury had left the courtroom. Elon Musk's long-time financial advisor, Jared Birchall, was questioned about xAI's leading bid to acquire OpenAI's non-profit entity assets, stating that the $97.4 billion offer was made to prevent Sam Altman from undervaluing the non-profit assets during OpenAI's restructuring.

The issue arose when OpenAI's lawyers subsequently argued that Birchall's understanding of the transaction may have primarily come from lawyers and that related testimony should be excluded; Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers personally questioned Birchall, doubting how he could bring a $97.4 billion offer but not clarify who set the valuation and with whom precisely it was discussed. The Verge assesses that Musk's lawyers bringing up this topic proactively in the trial may, in fact, give OpenAI an opportunity to further investigate the materials behind xAI's bid for OpenAI.