U.S. judge told Musk to stay ‘close’. He flew to China.
It turns out that when you’re a hundred billionaires, the legal orders of US federal judges don’t apply.
Case in point: Elon Musk was recently ordered by a federal judge to receive “recall” status for the blockbuster OpenAI trial currently taking place in Oakland, California. One would expect Musk to comply, given that he filed the suit in the first place.
Instead of staying near the courthouse as ordered, Musk has now taken a flight to China with President Trump.
Musk’s lawsuit accuses his OpenAI co-founders, including current CEO Sam Altman, of fraud in changing the company from a nonprofit to a for-profit business. There were many fascinating testimonials from the two tech titans. Most recently, defendant Altman accused Musk of deliberately demotivating OpenAI staff and being more interested in sharing “memes on his phone” than planning the company’s future.
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Crushable speed of light
When Musk finished his testimony last month, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers placed him on recall, meaning he could be required to testify again.
“OK, Mr. Musk, you’re not excused, but you can leave for the day,” Rogers said on April 30.
Rogers has already sanctioned members of the public who attempted to record the proceedings by dressing them up in front of the entire court, so it’s anyone’s guess how she will react to Musk’s defiance of her instructions. She also doesn’t seem to be afraid of Musk, having criticized him that even though he followed “Law 101,” he was “not a lawyer.”
“Memes on his phone!” » Sam Altman’s trial testimony takes a turn
Musk did not receive court approval to travel abroad while the trial continued, NBC confirmed via multiple sources. Instead, Musk joined Trump on his state visit to China to discuss topics including Taiwan, Iran and AI with President Xi Jinping.
Being recalled during a trial is an ambiguous position, legally speaking. Although there are no explicit rules prohibiting travel, you are expected to be available if your testimony is compelled due to a need for clarity or the emergence of new evidence.
Crossing an ocean probably wouldn’t be enough for most of the recalled witnesses. Then again, Musk is no ordinary witness.
Final arguments in Musk vs. Altman are expected on Thursday.
