OpenAI president Greg Brockman testified Tuesday that Elon Musk advocated converting the artificial intelligence startup into a for-profit company in 2017, partly to facilitate raising $80 billion to establish a self-sustaining city on Mars. Brockman said Musk made clear he wanted to lead OpenAI and demanded a majority stake, asserting that his business experience entitled him to control, and that he would decide when to relinquish it.

Brockman described an August 2017 meeting in which Musk became angry over a proposed equity structure, stood up abruptly, and took a portrait painted for him by OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, stating he would withhold further funding. Musk, a co-founder, claims OpenAI deceived him after he contributed $38 million, arguing the company has abandoned its charitable mission and should revert to nonprofit status. He is seeking $150 billion in damages and the removal of CEO Sam Altman and Brockman from leadership.

OpenAI restructured in 2019 as a for-profit arm overseen by the original nonprofit, enabling it to raise over $100 billion from investors. The trial, now in its second week in a California court, could determine the organization's legal and operational future. OpenAI maintains Musk is pursuing the lawsuit to benefit his own AI venture, xAI, while SpaceX has previously tied Musk's equity awards to establishing a Mars colony.

The court is expected to hear further testimony this week as both sides present evidence over OpenAI's founding intent and governance. The trial's outcome may influence the ownership structure of one of the world's leading AI firms and set precedents for nonprofit-to-profit transitions in tech.