Ilya Sutskever walked into federal court Monday afternoon and delivered the most damaging testimony yet in the Musk v. OpenAI trial. His OpenAI stake is worth $7 billion. He kept a document tracking Sam Altman's lies. And he said Altman has a "pattern of lying and pitting executives against each other."

This was the climax of a two-week trial that could force OpenAI to become nonprofit again. Sutskever led the board coup that fired Altman in November 2023, then flipped and helped bring him back. He left OpenAI six months later. He hasn't spoken to Altman in over a year.

Now he's testifying under oath. And the details are brutal.

"A Pattern of Lying"

Sutskever testified he prepared a document with other OpenAI executives documenting incidents of Altman's behavior. "Sam has a pattern of lying and pitting executives against each other," he said. This causes "tremendous loss of productivity," destroys trust, and makes it "very difficult to create safe AGI."

The board used careful language when they fired Altman, saying he was "not consistently candid." Sutskever confirmed Monday they chose that phrasing deliberately.

But Sutskever also cut against Musk's case. He said he was uncomfortable with Musk's demand for massive ownership of OpenAI. "I found it aggressive because Elon had many other obligations," he testified. He didn't want Tesla to take over OpenAI because "it would kill a dream."

$7 Billion and Counting

NBC News confirmed Sutskever's stake in OpenAI's for-profit arm is worth $7 billion. This makes him one of the wealthiest people to testify against his former company in recent memory.

The irony is thick. Sutskever was OpenAI's Chief Scientist and a true believer in the safety mission. He fired Altman to protect that mission. Now he owns $7 billion of the for-profit company he tried to stop.

Trial Enters Final Stretch

After Sutskever finished, Musk's side rested. OpenAI called its first witness: board chair Bret Taylor. Evidence wraps Wednesday. Closing arguments Thursday. Jury deliberation starts next week.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers will rule by May 18. If Musk wins, OpenAI could be forced back to nonprofit status. If OpenAI wins, they keep their $157 billion valuation and march toward IPO.

Sutskever's testimony was the most dramatic moment of the trial. The man who tried to save OpenAI's soul just buried its CEO under oath. And he's worth $7 billion for the trouble.