Elon Musk tells the jury that all he wants to do is save humanity

On stage, Elon Musk presents himself as a savior.

Why is Musk giving the jury so much of his origin story? Although he may be, depending on the day, the richest individual in the world, Musk noted that all of his business ventures were concerned with the well-being of humanity. The rocket company SpaceX was founded as “life insurance for life as we know it”; The electric car maker Tesla was founded because it believed that continued reliance on fossil fuels “could be very bad for the environment and humanity as a whole.” (On the platform, he dubiously claimed to have founded Tesla.)

He said he was concerned about artificial intelligence in his college years because it could be a “double-edged sword” that could “solve all diseases and make everyone prosperous, or it could kill us all.” He suggested that artificial intelligence has two outcomes: utopia Star Trek One, or dystopia finisher one. He wants the future to be more like Gene Roddenberry’s than James Cameron’s. This was his intention in co-founding OpenAI.

Musk portrays himself as a hero — a good guy who cares about humanity, suggesting that Altman is the opposite.

This could be an effective strategy, especially when compared to Altman, who co-founded the long-forgotten social media app Loopt and his days as a partner at Y Combinator, and who may seem far less generous.

Musk went so far as to claim that Altman was a thief. “It’s very simple: It’s not okay to rob a charity. That’s my opinion. Moreover, if the defendants are found not guilty, this case will become judicial law. It will become a precedent and will set a precedent for the plundering of every charity in America,” Musk said. “If a ruling is passed that allows the plundering of a charity, the entire foundation of charitable giving in America will be destroyed.”