Sutskever's $7B OpenAI Stake and 52-Page Altman Dossier Surface in Musk Trial
Ilya Sutskever took the stand in Oakland’s Northern District of California on Monday and, under questioning by Elon Musk’s lead attorney, disclosed that his stake in OpenAI is now worth approximately $7 billion — up from roughly $5 billion in November 2025, tracking the company’s valuation climb through its $852 billion post-money funding round.
The number landed in a trial built around whether that valuation was legitimately earned or the product of a fraudulent departure from OpenAI’s nonprofit charter.
The 52-Page Document
Sutskever testified that before casting his board vote to fire Sam Altman in November 2023, he had spent approximately a year collecting evidence of what he described as Altman’s “consistent pattern of lying.” That work produced a 52-page document prepared at the board’s request.
His specific characterisations of Altman’s conduct included “undermining and pitting executives against one another” — behaviour Sutskever said was “not conducive to any grand goal,” including the safe development of artificial general intelligence. He testified that he discussed the concerns with then-chief technology officer Mira Murati after the two spoke about Altman’s leadership “for a long time.”
Reversal and Aftermath
Sutskever voted to fire Altman and reversed course within days. On the stand, his explanation: “I felt that, had I not done this, the company would be destroyed.” He testified that he intentionally avoided the internet during the weekend after the board vote and was largely unaware of the employee revolt or Microsoft’s contingency offer to absorb OpenAI’s team.
He also disclosed that during Altman’s brief ouster, the surviving board members entertained a proposal for Anthropic to merge with and assume leadership of OpenAI. Sutskever said he was “not excited” about that scenario.
What the $7B Complicates
The financial disclosure is procedurally significant for the Musk case. Sutskever’s roughly 0.8% implied stake — placed against OpenAI’s $852 billion post-money valuation — puts him among the largest individual holders, below Altman and well below the institutional positions held by Microsoft, SoftBank, Amazon, and Nvidia.
Musk’s legal team can point to the number as evidence that OpenAI’s nonprofit-to-commercial transition generated outsized financial gains for a small cohort of insiders. That is central to Musk’s argument that Altman “stole a charity.”
Trial Timeline
Altman was scheduled to testify Tuesday. Closing arguments are expected Thursday before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The trial has entered its third and final week, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor, former CTO Mira Murati, president Greg Brockman, and — separately — Shivon Zilis among those who have already testified.
A verdict could determine whether OpenAI’s for-profit conversion stands or whether a court can force restructuring of a company currently valued near $900 billion.
Altman’s own position, offered in his cross-examination: “I believe I am an honest and trustworthy business person.” Musk’s attorneys called that claim directly contradicted by the testimony of the co-founder who built the evidentiary file against him.