good morning from downtown oakland’s federal courthouse on day four...
rat king 🐀@MikeIsaac
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Apr 30, 2026
~7 min read
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good morning from downtown oakland’s federal courthouse on day four of the Musk v. OpenAI trial!
we’re heading into the court now. please follow me and @CadeMetz for live updates and even more colorful tweets today…
nytimes.com/live/2026/04/3…
we’re heading into the court now. please follow me and @CadeMetz for live updates and even more colorful tweets today…
nytimes.com/live/2026/04/3…
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a *colorful* crowd Musk is expected to testify again
One woman walking around taking selfies and vaping. three students were discussing the Kalshi odds of which side willl win. one TV news producer may have tried to cut in line (twice!) i got here at six and told her to beat it
One woman walking around taking selfies and vaping. three students were discussing the Kalshi odds of which side willl win. one TV news producer may have tried to cut in line (twice!) i got here at six and told her to beat it
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also here is today’s lunch: roasted tomato and corn pizza from “Sliver,” Orange you glad i didn’t say banana, water
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musk has arrived. here is a bad quality photo of him from my spot in line
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here’s slightly better photos of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman
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actually I take that back all of my photos are terrible, I apologize and defer to my photoJournalist friends
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i am not really sure how often lawyers try to endear themselves to judges but Musk's lawyer, Steven Molo, does not seem to be trying to do that
right now he's trying to get "extinction risk" discussion into the court discussion.
"This is a real risk. we all could die."
right now he's trying to get "extinction risk" discussion into the court discussion.
"This is a real risk. we all could die."
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lmao -- OpenAI's lawyer piped up and both him and Musk's counsel started raising their voices until the judge said they all need to shut up
nothing like being dressed down as an adult
nothing like being dressed down as an adult
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judge Gonzalez: "I suspect that there are a number of people who do not want to put the future of humanity in Mr. Musk's hands. But we're not going to get into that.
This is not a trial on the safety risks of artificial intelligence."
This is not a trial on the safety risks of artificial intelligence."
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also i forgot to bring my butt pillow. really fucking up already even four days in
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OpenAI's counsel, Bill Savitt, needles Musk by playing a video of musk's pre-trial deposition.
musk said yesterday that he had read a summary of a term sheet. in the deposition musk said he had not read the termsheet.
Savitt trying to establish Musk is an unreliable witness.
musk said yesterday that he had read a summary of a term sheet. in the deposition musk said he had not read the termsheet.
Savitt trying to establish Musk is an unreliable witness.
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okay musk getting annoyed with savitt already by saying he "cuts me off all the time" in his answers
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savitt spending lots of time going back and forth btwn what Musk said in his deposition and what musk said on the stand.
Savitt clearly wants the jury to think Musk cannot be relied upon to give credible testimony.
Musk's annoyance appears to rise by each subsequent answer.
Savitt clearly wants the jury to think Musk cannot be relied upon to give credible testimony.
Musk's annoyance appears to rise by each subsequent answer.
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once Musk gets frustrated enough, he reverts to the same line, "You just cant steal a charity."
the judge isn't having it. savitt asks to strike his repeated comment from the record as nonresponsive, and judge tells musk to actually answer the questions he's being asked.
the judge isn't having it. savitt asks to strike his repeated comment from the record as nonresponsive, and judge tells musk to actually answer the questions he's being asked.
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From my seat in the back rows of the courtroom, it's clear to me that Musk has a few fans in attendance. One woman, who was dressed down by the judge yesterday for recording in the courthouse (which is not allowed), is chuckling at all of Musk's sarcastic responses to Savitt. Another man seated near me seems to be enjoying Musk's sassiness.
It's unclear to me whether OpenAI has the same sort of fanbase showing up to the trial as well.
It's unclear to me whether OpenAI has the same sort of fanbase showing up to the trial as well.
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Huh!
Musk testifies *under oath* that he has never directed the x algorithm to boost his account or to deboost the openai account
Musk testifies *under oath* that he has never directed the x algorithm to boost his account or to deboost the openai account
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Musk says it's "partly" true that xAI has distilled OpenAI models to train xAI.
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Musk also affirms xAI has used OpenAI technology to improve xAI.
wowie woo
wowie woo
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it is quite significant that Musk admitted on the stand that xAI is distilling OpenAI models to train xAI, and that it is using OpenAI's technology to build xAI!
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author's note — i brought my water bottle but just realized in my rush to get a courtroom seat forgot to actually fill it
now growing increasingly thirsty at an intense moment of testimony
now growing increasingly thirsty at an intense moment of testimony
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lmao someone in the back of the courtroom just had a youtube video playing from their laptop, i assume on accident, which loudly stated: "THIS IS THE GARDEN HOSE NOZZEL"
i guess someone in the gallery is redoing their lawn. godspeed
i guess someone in the gallery is redoing their lawn. godspeed
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honestly sorta want to know what video that is. been planting new flowers in the backyard and not all of that shit is taking. (some of it is)
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microsoft counsel is prodding musk now.
bad timing b/c i am now hungry. i had egg bites this morning but that was 530 am and my biteEnergy is wearing off
(also another reporter told me that my tweets inspired them to bring an energy bar today. proud to be of service)
bad timing b/c i am now hungry. i had egg bites this morning but that was 530 am and my biteEnergy is wearing off
(also another reporter told me that my tweets inspired them to bring an energy bar today. proud to be of service)
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the entirety of Microsoft's position in this case: "please leave us out of this. here is a powerpoint to that effect"
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my HP is dwindling fast but my MP is solid. i am a born spellcaster, yet foolishly did not put enough points into stamina and strength
x.com/PercyYaBysshe/…
x.com/PercyYaBysshe/…
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MSFT already done questioning. last questions from Musk's attorney on redirect.
Musk's questioning is coming to an end likely very soon.
Musk's questioning is coming to an end likely very soon.
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Musk counsel Steven Molo is about as sassy to the judge as Musk is to OpenAI's lawyers. not sure how well that's playing...
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molo's tendency to get objections based on his leading the witness has become so commonplace that the Judge just made a joke and said "overrulled" because she knew that OpenAI counsel would object.
but then she said "leading!" the courtroom laughed. molo is amused.
but then she said "leading!" the courtroom laughed. molo is amused.
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based on my observations and my ability to be persnickety i think i could be annoying enough to become a trial lawyer
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(apologies to my lawyer followers, i do not think you are necessarily personally annoying, just professionally annoying)
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one slightly annoying thing about fans of the attendants coming here is that basically a lot of these people just want to lock eyes with Musk during his whole testimony
can be difficult to navigate around this crowd while trying to like, work. but i support public access!
can be difficult to navigate around this crowd while trying to like, work. but i support public access!
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there are a few lines musk keeps reverting back to, one of which being "i dont want this all to turn into a terminator situation."
the repeated line is b/c it's very clear it's something the jury can understand, unless they are not film buffs
the repeated line is b/c it's very clear it's something the jury can understand, unless they are not film buffs
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lmao funny exchange in which Musk is asked to explain "what the terminator movie is about"
Musk said worst case is that ai kills us all.
i take umbrage with that. clearly there was a human faction of resistance fighters that remained standing after skynet went self aware
Musk said worst case is that ai kills us all.
i take umbrage with that. clearly there was a human faction of resistance fighters that remained standing after skynet went self aware
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another reporter's laptop sound went off as the jurors were entering, this time someone who was watching stripe sessions at the same time of the trial (!?)
i will spare their identity out of camaraderie
i will spare their identity out of camaraderie
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last round of Q's produced a super interesting email, one between two Musk employees discussing proposed ownership stakes for people involved in openai, including musk
which is an important point b/c musk's entire case is about OAI not taking investments and it being a charity
which is an important point b/c musk's entire case is about OAI not taking investments and it being a charity
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Musk is refusing to answer questions about it directly and keeps saying "i was not on this email this is an email between two other people"
new evidence. pretty interesting
new evidence. pretty interesting
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LOL
Musk says "i understand the questions, that's a leading answer."
the judge says "he can lead," referring to savitt. "that's not how it works. let's remind everyone you're not a lawyer."
musk says "i'm not a lawyer. but i did technically take law 101."
courtroom laughs
Musk says "i understand the questions, that's a leading answer."
the judge says "he can lead," referring to savitt. "that's not how it works. let's remind everyone you're not a lawyer."
musk says "i'm not a lawyer. but i did technically take law 101."
courtroom laughs
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okay musk done for the day. this may be the end of his testimony for the trial, though OpenAI has reserved the right to recall him to testify over the course of the trial if needed.
i imagine the gallery circus will leave town after today. though maybe not...
i imagine the gallery circus will leave town after today. though maybe not...
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Jared Birchall is up, who runs Musk's family office and personal affairs.
he's basically an international man of mystery, with very few photos of him in the public record, though he's super tight with Musk and intimately involved in all of his businesses.
he's basically an international man of mystery, with very few photos of him in the public record, though he's super tight with Musk and intimately involved in all of his businesses.
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my back starting to hurt. wondering if sitting on my jacket will help
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genuinely my favorite part of federal trial coverage is when serious people across billion dollar industries have to rely on my schizophrenic twitter feed for information, including "the state of mike's indigestion and joint pain"
welcome, friends
welcome, friends
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(stomach is alright fwiw, though i could use some seltzer or perhaps a bitters and soda)
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i may have oversold birchall being an international man of mystery bc holy fuck this is so boring. like reading an intuit turbotax blog post
will update with anything further tho
will update with anything further tho
