At His Openai Trial, Musk Relitigates An Old Friendship

Among nan astir absorbing parts of Elon Musk’s grounds Tuesday successful his suit against OpenAI wasn’t nan kindness he claims was stolen from him (we each knew that was coming). It was astir an aged friend.

Musk testified that 1 of his halfway motivations for co-founding OpenAI was a falling retired pinch Google’s Larry Page complete AI information — specifically, a speech successful which Musk raised nan imaginable of AI wiping retired humanity and Page shrugged it disconnected arsenic “fine,” truthful agelong arsenic AI itself survived. Page called Musk a “speciest” for being “pro human.” Musk called nan cognition “insane.”

That’s mostly notable fixed really adjacent nan 2 erstwhile were. Fortune included them connected its 2016 database of secretly best-friend business leaders; Musk was truthful comfortable pinch Page that he regularly collapsed astatine his Palo Alto home. Page erstwhile told Charlie Rose that he’d alternatively give his money to Musk than to charity.

The relationship didn’t past OpenAI. When Musk recruited Google AI prima Ilya Sutskever to thief motorboat nan company, Page felt personally betrayed and trim disconnected contact.

It’s a communicative Musk has told earlier — including to writer Walter Isaacson for his bestselling curriculum vitae of Musk — but Tuesday was nan first clip he said it nether oath. Page hasn’t commented, and it’s worthy remembering everything that Musk said was successful work of a lawsuit. Still, arsenic precocious arsenic 2023 he told tech podcaster Lex Fridman he wanted to spot things up: “We were friends for a very agelong time.”