Elon Didn't Want to WIN the OpenAI Lawsuit — He Wanted to DESTROY Sam Altman (And It Worked)

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for the moments that matter. Built for the busy days that turn into all-night study sessions. The moment you're working from a cafe and realize every outlet's taken. Yeah, the times you're deep in your flow and the absolute last thing you need is an auto-update throwing off your momentum. That's why Dell builds tech that adapts to the way you actually work. Built with a long-lasting battery so you're not scrambling for the closest outlet. and built-in intelligence that makes updates around your schedule, not in the middle of it.

0:34Find technology built for the way you work at dell.com slash dellpcs. Built for you.

0:44Ernest, what's up? Look, if you've been sitting on a business idea, a side hustle, or a brand you wanted to launch, this is your sign to finally make it happen. Wix Harmony lets you create an entire website just by telling it what you want. Literally, you type it and it builds a site for you with business features already included. And the best part, you still have full control to edit everything yourself. It's fast, it's smart, and it makes building a website way easier than people think. Try it today at Wix.com slash Harmony. That's Wix.com slash Harmony. Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts.

1:21I can't stop scratching my downtown. Yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud. There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health AI. Chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24-7. Healthcare just got less painful. Wait, this is a soda? Yeah. And it has protein? 10 grams. No sugar? Zero. And it actually tastes good? It's Sky Pop. Sky Pop Protein Soda delivers the refreshing taste you want from a real soda. Crisp and delicious with 10 grams of complete protein, zero sugar, and just 45 calories.

2:05So you're not choosing between great taste and real benefits. You're getting both in every sip. Sky Pop Protein Soda. Reach for the sky. Get your Sky Pop Protein Soda now at Target, Walmart, or Kroger. Let's talk about Elon versus OpenAI. This is something that is a highly talked about legal battle. For people that don't know, Elon was at the beginning level of OpenAI. And how he puts it, kind of got screwed out of the situation when they decided to change their mission from a nonprofit to a for-profit organization and a lot of other nuance. So he felt like he was owed a lot more than what he received, which I don't think he received too much.

2:52And they went to court. I think it started last year. And today, I believe the judge threw the case out. Yeah, the jury deliberated today and dismissed it on claims that he waited too long to file the claim. Not that he wasn't wrong, but that he just waited too long. He said he's going to appeal. So, I mean, if you can understand it sitting in that position that he's in objectively looking at it, right? Like you're thinking this is a nonprofit. It turns into a for-profit. And then you watch a company like Microsoft spend$10 billion on it. And you're thinking to myself, oh, hey, how did I get cut out that deal?

3:28He's going to appeal it, like he said. But it's interesting. The case obviously was put forth a year ago. The trial started maybe two weeks ago. So it's moved pretty quickly. but I think the remnants of the trial, I think Elon looked at it from a standpoint of how can I hurt this company? Yep. I don't think he wanted to win. I don't really think he wanted to win. Obviously, he has his company that's going to IPO here shortly, but how could I damage it? And I think he succeeded in that. Tremendously. In a way that's like a little maniacal, I feel like, right? Like, if you think about how we thought about OpenAI a year ago and how we used to talk about it and how we talk about it now.

4:18The sentiment has dramatically changed. Completely changed, which also, when it's going into its IPO, hurts, right? Because now, how do we know how to move with this IPO if he has to get a piece of the company? Like, that changes everything. That gets pushed back. But I think the most damaging thing about this is that the public, OpenAI, yes, but the public scrutiny of sam altman altman oh my gosh you did the judge might have dismissed the case but what is done to his public perception how open ai is now looked at as maybe second could be third place when you're talking about platforms right anthropic has certainly steamrolled and now is the darling of it.

5:05Gemini's there. Elon is like in that fourth place in opening eyes. He's really changed the sentiment of how we think. And I feel like, yeah, it could have been a settlement of money, but this isn't about money. You're talking about a guy when SpaceX IPO's trillionaire status. Yeah, for sure. So it's not about money, but what it is is the principle and the public perception of what I can now do to you. The thing is that's really interesting about it. I do feel there's an element of he didn't care about the development of the company until it became extremely popular and successful. I know we were supposed to talk about this a little bit last week, but Rashad, like in terms of using the media, because if you look at Sam Altman versus Dario, it's a night and day comparison.

5:57What are some missteps do you think Sam Altman made and how could he have handled this better to make sure that his name wasn't drugged through the mud in terms of the media. Not saying Elon's an angel, but Troy, to your point, Elon has done damage to Sam's career that I don't think he'll ever recover from. I think it was more than just Elon. I think he had a series of unfortunate events as far as he had an interview. Somebody got killed at that employee and they asked him about it. Allegedly, for legal purposes, allegedly. The person got unalived. We don't know the circumstances behind it. But when asked, I didn't say that he was responsible for it.

6:45I want to cover all bases. Yeah, but when they asked him about it, his answer was very strange, to say the least. And then you had the privacy concern issues with ChatGBT and then Elon comes in, then, you know, a variety of other people that worked in the ecosystem of OpenAI started to speak out. And then there's articles about the culture of OpenAI and, you know, how employees were, you know, verbally abused and taken advantage of and so much stuff. So I think that it just started to become a snowball effect. And that was one of the things, but it was a variety of different things that did not help open AI, chat GBT, Sam Altman.

7:36And at the same time, you got Claude and you have perplexity and nobody, they don't really have a face to their brands. They're clean. Nobody's really attached to it as far as emotionally attached to it. They're just using it. So as he's declining, fighting that media battle, these other vehicles are gaining from a popularity standpoint. And then it just becomes a kind of a snowball of a recipe for disaster after a while. But they're not dead. I mean, they're still viable. They're still going to be one of the biggest IPOs in history. Ever. and that that what you said is exactly what i'm i'm i'm thinking right like everything you said literally starts as this as he decides that he's going to sue them and so when we think about all right how can we defame how can we defame how can we defame how can we defame i'm gonna i know who the man is right this was his partner in 2015 when they created this he knows who he is if i have to make him be public facing, he's going to show who he really is.

8:49So we can really see who he is. As you do it, just really quickly, as you do that, then now here comes the flaws in you. Here comes the flaws in you. It's not just the product anymore. We're like now looking at the CEO. We don't know as much about Dario and Anthropic. We probably didn't even know his name two years ago. Most people didn't. Most people still probably don't know his name. But because he doesn't have that lawsuit, now he's able to create and be creative and his team is allowed to be creative. Whereas OpenAI is like, boom, here's a hit, here's a hit, here's a hit. You didn't even talk about the Oracle piece of it.

9:24Here's a hit. Okay, all this is coming at you. That's going to limit creativity. Now you got to focus on this. What if you lose this case? Oh, you're trying to IPO? Oh, wait, let's slow down on that. All while everybody in this race is pushing ahead, pushing forward with less headlines. Obviously, we saw what happened recently with Anthropik in the government. But prior to that, it was, oh, that second place thing? Oh, okay, here it comes. Oh, wait, they have a model that's better. They've caught up. They're actually going to IPO at a higher valuation. The timing of it is very interesting. And to that point, if you're going to do bad business, don't be surprised the person that you were doing business with runs to your enemies and gives your entire playbook on how to destroy you.

10:11Allegedly, all the smear campaigns allegedly in the book empire of ai came out with some pushing and maybe backing from said person who may feel like intellectual property was stolen from him um even in some of the software route and destruction that we've had some are even saying because remember at first elon wasn't that favorable towards anthropic and the closer we got to this case all of a sudden partnership and bridges are between spacex starlink x at scale so if you're going sam you got away with this one but when you have initial investors in him and all the people who back him don't be surprised when they come to get their look back and come to attack you even through presidential means you got away with this one because he filed too late but you have to be aware of every attack that you're going to go through like at one point they were going to be the darling of AI.

11:13They're almost looked at like the bastard child of the space now. All while, and we'd be like remiss if we didn't say that, all while building his own AI, right? Like Elon's building his AI at the same time. And look at the strategic partnerships he has with it, right? You talked about Anthropic. Amazon is helping him with their data center build out. So like they're partnering and working together. Meanwhile, like you said, he knows the flaws because he knows the man. What if your soda actually did something for you? Introducing Sky Pop Protein Soda. Sky Pop Protein Soda has 10 grams of complete protein, zero sugar, and real delicious soda taste.

11:51Sky Pop Protein Soda. Reach for the sky. Get your Sky Pop Protein Soda now at Target, Walmart, or Kroger. If your best finance people are doing expense reports, chasing receipts, or spending time on month-end clothes, it's time to get Brex AF, a gentic finance that eliminates that work before it starts. Learn more at brecks.com slash AF. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine, and the cool Bahamian breeze. Bahamar, located in Nassau, Bahamas, offers your choice of three luxury hotels, over 45 fine dining and nightlife venues, John Batiste's all-new jazz club, the Caribbean's most luxurious casino, and one-of-a-kind experiences for the entire family.

12:34like our 15-acre tropical water park, wildlife sanctuary, world-class golf course, and so much more. Visit Bahamar.com today. Go on, get a little out there into the big heart of Nevada where you can go off-road and off the map on two lakes or on horseback. Dip into hot springs and dive into deserts. Climb a mountain or make your best effort. See thousands of stars in some of the darkest skies. Stake out haunted hotels. Can you make it to sunrise? There's always something new to see because we've got plenty of space to just be. Plan your trip at TravelNevada.com. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.