Two days before the Elon Musk versus OpenAI trial was set to begin last week, Musk sent a text message to Greg Brockman, the company's president and co-founder. In the message, Musk proposed that OpenAI settle the lawsuit. When Brockman responded by suggesting both parties drop their respective legal actions, the conversation quickly deteriorated. Musk replied, "By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so it will be."

This exchange was revealed in a new legal filing submitted by OpenAI's lawyers on Sunday. The filing did not include the actual text messages, and much of its content was dedicated to persuading the judge that this settlement discussion should be admissible as evidence. However, the implication is unmistakable. Musk's lawsuit aims to dismantle OpenAI's for-profit structure, require its technology to be made publicly available, void Microsoft's licensing agreement, and compel OpenAI to pay him general, compensatory, and punitive damages, along with his legal fees.

After OpenAI's lawyers publicly disclosed this "settle-or-else" text exchange, observers quickly noted that the trial may not be about Musk's concerns for AI safety, but rather about demanding a financial payout from OpenAI's success while crippling a competitor. This is essentially what OpenAI's countersuit alleges. The trial continues.