Amateur City: Satya Nadella Slams OpenAI Board in Musk Trial

Speaking in an Oakland federal courtroom today, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella described the 2023 attempt to oust Sam Altman as “amateur city.” Under oath in the high-stakes Musk v. OpenAI trial, Nadella admitted that the board’s lack of transparency during the crisis was poorly managed and created “catastrophic risk” for Microsoft’s $13 billion investment.

Elon Musk’s legal team is using Nadella’s testimony to argue that OpenAI has abandoned its nonprofit mission in favor of a “commercial win-win” for Microsoft. Nadella defended the partnership, noting that while OpenAI has pivoted toward a for-profit structure, the original nonprofit arm still benefits from the massive scale.