【AI前沿】Behold, the Elon Musk jackass trophy

AITechElon MuskBehold, the Elon Musk jackass trophyUnfortunately, Musk v. Altman jurors didn’t get to see the trophy for themselves.Unfortunately, Musk v. Altman jurors didn’t get to see the trophy for themselves.byElizabeth LopattoMay 14, 2026, 8:59 PM UTCLinkShareGiftPart OfLive updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAIsee all updatesElizabeth Lopattois a reporter who writes about tech, money, and human behavior. She joined The Verge in 2014 as science editor. Previously, she was a reporter at Bloomberg.Yesterday, inMusk v. Altman, before the jurors came in, Sam Altman’s team passed up what looked — from a distance — like a little league trophy. It was not. Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers had the lawyers read the inscription aloud for the press: “Never stop being a jackass.” It’s a commemoration OpenAI employees bought for research scientist Josh Achiam, who testified yesterday.How exactly did this come up ina trial about nonprofit contract law? Allegedly, when Elon Musk was leaving OpenAI, he talked about wanting to race ahead of Google. Achiam, who worked on AI safety, asked if that was really such a good idea. Musk called him a jackass. Years later, Musk is portraying his lawsuit as an attempt to avoid AI causing serious harm — something that, Altman’s team suggests, wasn’t high on his list of concerns back then.During his own direct testimony, Musk denied the incident took place, saying that he might have said something like, “Don’t be a jackass.”YGR ruled that the jurors would not get to see the trophy unless Musk’s team gave OpenAI a reason to introduce it, so they only heard about it. But now you can see it for yourself.Correction, May 14th:The researcher is Josh Achiam, not Ackiam.Follow topics and authorsfrom this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Elizabeth LopattoAIElon MuskOpenAITechMore in:Live updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAIMusk v. Altman accomplished nothing but airing dirty laundryElizabeth LopattoMay 14“I told you in my opening statement you wouldn’t hear very much from Microsoft, and you haven’t”Elizabeth LopattoMay 14“I feel like I’m going to miss you all,” Savitt tells the jury.Hayden FieldMay 14Most PopularMost PopularMicrosoft starts canceling Claude Code licensesLeaked images reveal Xbox Elite 3 controller with mysterious new buttonsLeaked images show Microsoft’s new Xbox Cloud Gaming controllerYou can make an app for thatI’m obsessed with Forza Horizon 6, and I’ve barely even racedThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to ourTermsandPrivacy Notice.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the GooglePrivacy PolicyandTerms of Serviceapply.Advertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad