Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified in the Musk v. Altman case, describing years of support for OpenAI and challenging Musk’s claims.
A key stretch of the Musk v.. Altman trial turned on a familiar tech name: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.. As Elon Musk’s side called major witnesses in the lawsuit’s final phase. Nadella’s account of Microsoft’s long-running relationship with OpenAI offered jurors a view that. at several points. undercut Musk’s narrative of betrayal.
The case centers on Musk’s claim that Sam Altman and OpenAI helped transform a nonprofit designed for humanity’s benefit into a lucrative operation through its relationship with Microsoft.. Nadella’s testimony focused on the practical mechanics of that partnership—how Microsoft supported OpenAI’s early work. and how the companies’ commercial ties developed over time.
Nadella’s evidence seemed to mostly work against Musk’s position.. He told jurors about an email in which Musk thanked him for financial and computing support for OpenAI dating back to 2016.. Nadella also presented a picture of long cooperation. saying Musk never raised complaints as Microsoft’s licensing and revenue-sharing arrangements with OpenAI grew.
Before the trial moved to the opposing side. Musk’s lawyers called OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever. who left the company after an internal power struggle that preceded Altman’s temporary step down as CEO.. Nadella. when asked earlier. had described Altman’s later removal event as “amateur city. ” a phrase that became a focal point as the case continued.
In the next phase. Altman’s and OpenAI’s legal team began presenting their side. led by OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor. who told jurors that the company remains dedicated to saving humanity.. Against that backdrop. Nadella’s testimony carried weight not just for what he said. but for how it framed the relationship between the parties—especially the idea that Musk’s concerns only surfaced after he filed his 2024 lawsuit.
One of the clearest threads in Nadella’s account was that Musk was supportive of the Microsoft partnership in its early days.. Under questioning by a Microsoft lawyer. Nadella said that in 2016. before Musk quit OpenAI. Musk welcomed the start of what would later become a major Microsoft-OpenAI partnership that Musk is now challenging.. Nadella also said Microsoft took a $15 million loss by letting OpenAI use its Azure cloud infrastructure at a discount to power early technology behind ChatGPT.
Nadella further linked that cooperative posture to personal engagement.. He testified that Musk thanked him in an August 2017 email after an OpenAI bot beat an elite pro player in the Dota 2 world championship tournament.. According to Nadella’s testimony. Musk wrote that the support was “Very much appreciated. ” and that Microsoft help would be communicated to others—reinforcing the image that the ties between the parties were not adversarial in the early years.
Nadella also testified that Musk did not complain as the relationship deepened.. When asked whether Musk ever raised concerns about the partnership. Nadella said he heard no complaints—not when the revenue-sharing partnership was announced in July 2019. and not even after news in 2023 indicated Microsoft’s investment stake had increased by $10 billion.. Nadella added that Musk knew how to contact him directly, noting that “We have each others’ phone numbers.”
That framing matters because it speaks directly to one of the legal fault lines in the trial: whether Musk’s objections were long-standing or came late.. The defendants are hoping jurors conclude that Musk only began complaining when he filed the lawsuit in 2024. rather than during earlier stages when Microsoft and OpenAI were building and scaling their commercial relationship.
Nadella’s testimony also addressed a sharply worded comment he made after Altman’s brief ouster in November 2023.. After the event threatened OpenAI’s stability at the time. Nadella told New York magazine that if OpenAI “disappeared tomorrow. ” Microsoft would still have the intellectual property rights and the capability to proceed.. He used a distinctive metaphor—“We are below them. above them. around them”—which some people in Silicon Valley praised as a rallying line and “a new war slogan.”
Musk’s side can be expected to use that quote to argue that Microsoft’s influence over OpenAI was deeper than a simple technical relationship.. In the lawsuit. Musk has pointed to a charitable donation of $38 million to OpenAI during its early years. and then portrayed later developments as a betrayal of promises that the company would remain nonprofit.. In that account, Microsoft and OpenAI are described by Musk as a “market-paralyzing gorgon,” reflecting the intensity of his complaint.
When Nadella returned to the “above. below. around” remark on the stand. he defended it as a message meant to ease concern after Altman’s firing.. Nadella said he was working to communicate clearly to customers that they could rely on Microsoft and OpenAI’s products continuing regardless of internal turmoil—linking the comment directly to Copilot and other OpenAI offerings.
Another key battleground was how Nadella interpreted Altman’s November 2023 removal.. Musk’s lawyers have treated Altman’s ouster as evidence that Altman was untrustworthy to lead an organization so important.. But Nadella. describing the circumstances from his perspective. said the board’s actions lacked a clear explanation for what he viewed as a drastic step.
In Nadella’s telling. he believed the leadership change was driven by internal issues and petty grievances rather than a substantive governance decision.. He described it as “amateur city,” saying he sensed “jealousies” and “communications” problems.. Nadella added that he saw himself as needing to help restore OpenAI’s operational stability. saying he was concerned employees might leave “en masse. ” which would have harmed OpenAI and. by extension. Microsoft.
The trial’s next movement underscores how the testimony fits into a broader strategy on both sides.. Musk’s side called Sutskever after Nadella stepped down. and then Altman’s team began with OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor. who repeatedly told jurors the company remains committed to saving humanity.. For jurors. the contrast is likely to be stark: Nadella’s account suggests long cooperation and messaging aimed at stabilizing operations. while Musk’s lawsuit argues that the nonprofit mission was compromised as OpenAI scaled into a business model.
For investors and business-watchers. the trial is also a window into something larger than personalities: how power. funding. and compute partnerships between big tech and AI startups can evolve into structures that carry legal and reputational risk.. When licensing terms. revenue sharing. and cloud infrastructure become inseparable from a company’s product roadmap. disputes about intent and control are often less about what was promised and more about what was built—and who benefited as the technology matured.
Musk v. Altman trial Satya Nadella Microsoft OpenAI partnership Azure licensing OpenAI nonprofit lawsuit AI corporate governance