In Elon Musk’s testimony in the lawsuit against OpenAI, an intriguing detail emerged about his past friendship. Musk revealed a significant reason for co-founding OpenAI stemmed from a disagreement with Google’s Larry Page over AI safety. Musk expressed concerns about AI potentially eradicating humanity, which Page dismissed, prioritizing AI’s survival. Page labeled Musk “speciest” for being “pro human,” while Musk deemed this view “insane.”
The history between Musk and Page adds depth to this fallout. They were once so close that Fortune recognized them in 2016 as secretive best-friend business leaders. Musk was comfortable enough to stay at Page’s Palo Alto home, and Page even suggested he’d prefer giving his money to Musk over charity.
The friendship deteriorated with OpenAI’s inception. When Musk attracted Google AI expert Ilya Sutskever to help start the company in 2015, Page felt it was a personal betrayal and severed ties.
Although this narrative isn’t new—Musk has shared it before, including with author Walter Isaacson for his biography—Tuesday marked the first time it was shared under oath. Page has remained silent, and Musk’s statements were part of a lawsuit. Nevertheless, Musk expressed to tech podcaster Lex Fridman in 2023 his desire to reconcile, acknowledging, “We were friends for a very long time.”