OpenAI Trial Week 2: Musk Tried to Settle Before Trial — Then Threatened “You Will Be the Most Hated Man in America” — Now Brockman Is on the Stand

● Nandini Roy Choudhury, writer

TECH • AI • LEGAL • OPENAI TRIAL WEEK 2

Week 2 of the Musk v. Altman OpenAI trial opened with a bombshell: Musk secretly messaged Greg Brockman two days before the trial began to explore a settlement — then threatened him when Brockman didn’t take the bait. OpenAI President Greg Brockman is now on the witness stand, defending his journal entries and his role in OpenAI’s controversial for-profit transition. Altman is expected to testify later this week.

May 5, 2026 • By World Affairs Desk, techsunnews.com • 6 min read • Sources: CNBC, ABC7, NBC Bay Area, MIT Technology Review, Washington Post

TRIAL SCOREBOARD — Week 2 Day 1

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The settlement bombshell — Musk’s secret text to Brockman

The most dramatic revelation of Week 2 did not come from the witness stand. It came from a court filing submitted by OpenAI on Sunday evening — the night before proceedings resumed. According to the filing, on April 25 — two days before the trial began with jury selection — Musk sent a private message to OpenAI President Greg Brockman “to gauge interest in settlement.” Brockman’s response was measured: he suggested both sides drop their respective claims. Musk’s reply was anything but measured.

“By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so it will be.”
— Elon Musk, private text message to Greg Brockman, April 25, 2026 — two days before trial

OpenAI’s lawyers immediately sought to enter the text message as trial evidence, arguing it “tends to prove motive and bias — that Musk’s motivation in pursuing this lawsuit is to attack a competitor and its principals.” Judge Gonzalez Rogers declined to admit the text, ruling it was not relevant enough to the core legal claims. But its existence is now public. Musk — who spent the entirety of Week 1 portraying himself as a principled philanthropist trying to save a charity — privately tried to settle two days before the trial while simultaneously threatening the man he was about to put on the stand.

Brockman on the stand — the journal entries at the heart of Week 2

Greg Brockman took the witness stand Monday for the first time in the trial. The atmosphere was markedly different from Week 1. Musk was not in court. The crowds outside were smaller. The energy inside was calmer. What remained was the same central legal dispute: did Musk know about and accept the for-profit conversion, or was he deceived?

Musk’s attorneys immediately targeted Brockman’s personal journal entries — which were unsealed earlier this year as legal teams prepared for trial. The journals, written during OpenAI’s formative years, contain entries that Musk’s team argues show Brockman was motivated by personal financial gain and drawn to Musk’s fame and influence. Brockman pushed back: he described the entries as “expressions of frustration rather than a concrete plan.” Musk’s lead attorney Marc Toberoff was withering in response, asking the jury how many times Brockman had rehearsed that exact explanation before taking the stand.

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What Week 1 established — and why it matters for Week 2

To understand the significance of Brockman’s testimony, it helps to recap where Week 1 left things. Musk spent three days on the stand, delivering his viral line “You can’t just steal a charity” repeatedly, warning the jury that “AI could also kill us all”, and making the damaging admission that xAI uses OpenAI’s models to train Grok — generating audible gasps in the courtroom. He positioned himself as a wronged philanthropist. OpenAI’s lawyers spent their cross-examination trying to show he was a control-seeking businessman who left when he didn’t get his way.

Brockman’s testimony is OpenAI’s chance to advance its counter-narrative directly. According to MIT Technology Review, OpenAI’s core argument is that Musk knew OpenAI would need a for-profit structure to raise the capital required for AGI, and that he pushed for a for-profit subsidiary himself — as long as he was in personal control of it. When the board refused to give him a majority stake and the right to choose a majority of board members, he left. The lawsuit, OpenAI argues, is the business consequence of that rejection dressed up as a principled legal case.

What happens next — Altman expected this week

Brockman will return to the stand Tuesday. Sam Altman is expected to testify later this week — making this the most anticipated moment of the entire trial. Altman will face cross-examination on the “You are my hero” email he sent Musk in 2023, the for-profit conversion timeline, and the question of whether Musk was genuinely deceived or simply outmanoeuvred. Read our full trial explainer for the full background on what is at stake: $134 billion, OpenAI’s IPO, Altman’s job and the future of AI governance — all hang in the balance.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? MUSK TRIED TO SETTLE TWO DAYS BEFORE TRIAL — THEN THREATENED BROCKMAN SAYING “YOU WILL BE THE MOST HATED MAN IN AMERICA.” DOES THIS CHANGE YOUR OPINION OF MUSK’S MOTIVES? DROP YOUR VERDICT IN THE COMMENTS! 👇

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SOURCES — 6 verified global portals

1. CNBC — Musk texted OpenAI’s Brockman about settlement two days before trial (May 4, 2026)

2. ABC7 San Francisco — Musk vs Altman trial enters 2nd week, focus shifts to Brockman (May 4, 2026)

3. NBC Bay Area — OpenAI President Greg Brockman takes stand in trial (May 4, 2026)

4. MIT Technology Review — Week one of Musk v. Altman: What it was like in the room (May 4, 2026)

5. CNBC — Musk testimony dominated first week of Musk v. Altman trial (May 2, 2026)

6. Washington Post — Musk faced OpenAI in court. So far, the case is all about him (May 2, 2026)