OpenAI CEO once wanted to reconcile with Elon Musk

Sam Altman once posted an article acknowledging Elon Musk's contributions. Photo: Bloomberg .

A new court document shows that Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, texted Shivon Zilis, one of Elon Musk's close associates, to ask for his opinion on publicly praising the South African-born billionaire on social media, just days before he actually did it.

According to documents filed in federal court in the lawsuit between Musk and OpenAI, Altman contacted Zilis on February 9, 2023. In the message, he wrote that he was considering publishing an article about “Elon’s important contributions to OpenAI” and how much people admired the Tesla CEO.

“Society underestimates our gratitude to Elon for raising our collective ambitions at a time when faith in the future is waning,” Altman posted on X less than a week after contacting Zilis.

The post quickly gained attention and appeared to be a move to ease tensions between the two OpenAI co-founders, as Musk became increasingly critical of the company he helped build.

Shivon Zilis, Neuralink’s chief operating officer and special projects officer, has long been considered one of Musk’s closest associates. Text messages between her and Altman are listed in the lawsuit as evidence provided by Musk.

The court documents also highlight a tumultuous history between the two entrepreneurs. Emails from 2016 show that Musk played an active role in shaping OpenAI’s direction, frequently urging the founders to meet and warning of competitive pressures.

However, by 2017, a conflict over the direction of development led him to announce that he would stop funding if the company did not maintain its non-profit model. Altman at that time still affirmed that he wanted to maintain this structure.

Musk left the OpenAI board in 2018 and later founded xAI. He is now accusing OpenAI of “betraying its original mission” and suing Altman and its board. Altman, Zilis, and Musk’s legal representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Source: https://znews.vn/ceo-openai-tung-muon-han-gan-voi-elon-musk-post1601830.html