The Richest Grudge Match in History

TechnologyThe Richest Grudge Match in HistoryThe trial between Elon Musk and Sam Altman makes the AI boom seem sordid and small.By Matteo WongIllustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Krisztian Bocsi / Bloomberg / Getty; Anna Moneymaker / Getty; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.April 28, 2026, 7:13 PM ET ShareSave Elon Musk and Sam Altman are two of the most influential people in Silicon Valley, if not the world. Between the two of them, Musk and Altman run technology companies worth many trillions of dollars that promise to reshape civilization. But this morning, both sat under fluorescent lights in a courthouse in downtown Oakland, suffering through all manner of technical glitches as their respective attorneys kicked off the long-awaited trial in Musk v.

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