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Elizabeth Lopatto

Elizabeth Lopatto

Senior Reporter

Senior Reporter

    More From Elizabeth Lopatto

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Molo is suggesting that Greg Brockman’s conduct makes him untrustworthy.

    “17 times during his testimony I had to ask him to answer the question,” Molo says. Dude, you don’t want this. If they’re considering conduct, they’re considering your client’s conduct, which was remarkably bad.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Molo has begun his closing statement for Elon Musk, who is in China.

    “He’s sorry he could not be here,” Molo says. He’s thumping on how important jury service is, which is never a good sign in a closing statement.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    YGR is now reading aloud the instructions to the jury.

    I will spare you. This should go on for 20-30 minutes, she tells us.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    The monitor has left the courtroom.

    First there was a dongle. Then there was an attempt to move it. YGR took the opportunity to chew out Musk’s team for not consulting OpenAI about the monitor. There appeared to be no way for OpenAI to access the monitor and so it has been carried out. I am sitting next to the reporter from Wired and we are trying not to die of laughter.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    We are now having a fight about a new, large monitor that has appeared on the Musk table.

    OpenAI is concerned it will obscure the view of the defendants, and also that Musk’s team has refused to share it so they can it for their case as well. YGR says Musk’s team can use it if OpenAI’s team can use it, but it does need to be moved. “I wish you would have said something yesterday” about the monitor, she says to Musk’s team.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    “They didn’t give us page numbers, your honor.”

    YGR is on the bench, and we are going through assorted issues before the jurors come in. It seems that YGR got page numbers on a set of demonstratives from Musk’s team and OpenAI’s team did not. “I would suggest you not use this,” YGR says of the slide at issue. Good morning!

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Apropos of nothing in particular...

    I enjoyed reading this story about Bill Gates’ malevolent influence on the current crop of Silicon Valley megalomaniacs. If you remember his pre-Gates Foundation reputation, you will particularly appreciate it.

    Whither the Nerd-Bully?

    [The New York Review of Books]

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Microsoft and OpenAI rest.

    There is no rebuttal case from Musk’s team. We will get closing statements tomorrow.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    In the most boring expert testimony yet, Louis Dudney, a forensic accountant, testified about how those funds were spent.

    It was on “functional expsenses,” ie, salaries, compute, etc. The cross is just arguing about the methodology of accounting for commingled money in the donated accounts. I can’t believe we are having a methodology dispute about this. I may die.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    The shade we are getting in here is incredible.

    John Coates noted that he’s worked for a lot of law firms as an expert witness, including Quinn Emanuel, Musk’s primary firm — and not the one trying the case today. He is excused. The judge is now huddling in sidebar with the primary lawyers for the case, and an animated discussion is taking place.