OpenAI chief futurist Joshua Achiam testified in the Musk v. Altman trial that Elon Musk called him a “jackass” during a February 2018 all-hands meeting after Achiam pushed back on Musk's plan to race toward AGI, which Achiam and others viewed as “reckless.” Achiam said Musk told 50 to 60 employees he was leaving OpenAI because Tesla would soon compete for elite AI talent, creating a “conflict of interest,” and that Musk lacked confidence in OpenAI's path and wanted to “pursue AGI in his own way” out of fear someone else would do the wrong thing with it. The testimony, called by Altman and OpenAI's lawyers, aimed to undercut Musk's portrayal of himself as focused on AI safety, and Achiam said his colleagues later gifted him a gold “jackass” trophy inscribed “Never stop being a jackass for safety.”
