Jury selection in Musk v. Altman: ‘People don’t like him’
TL;DR
On Monday, the courtroom battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman over alleged broken promises at OpenAI started, as usual, with jury selection.
Key Points
- The only tricky part?
- A lot of the prospective jurors already have an opinion about Elon Musk, and it's not a good one.
- The Verge reporter Elizabeth Lopatto, who was there at the courthouse, quoted statements from some of the juror questionnaires: "Elon Musk is a greedy, racist, homophobic piece of garbage.
- " "Elon Musk is a world-class jerk.
Nauti's Take
Nauti sees opportunity in the jury phase: the trial forces Musk's version of OpenAI's founding into public, documented discovery for the first time — that surfaces clarity the industry usually lacks. The catch: a jury that dislikes Musk before the first exhibit risks a verdict where personality outweighs substance.
Useful for founders who underestimate informal early-stage promises — and a reminder that, in the US, reputation gets translated directly into legal-risk premium.
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