The Courtroom Showdown Between Elon Musk and Sam Altman
The Daily 
About this episode
<p>For the last three weeks, a messy, dramatic battle has played out between two of the most powerful titans of tech in the world: Elon Musk and Sam Altman.</p> <p>As jury deliberations begin today, the technology reporter Mike Isaac takes us inside the courtroom drama and explains how a corporate dispute got extremely personal.</p> <p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/mike-isaac" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Mike Isaac</strong></a>, a New York Times reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering tech companies and Silicon Valley.</p> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/technology/courtroom-circus-elon-musk-sam-altman.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inside the courtroom circus</a> with Elon Musk and Sam Altman.</li> <li>Musk lawyer’s question for Sam Altman on the stand: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/technology/sam-altman-openai-trial-elon-musk-lawyers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Are you trustworthy</a>?</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters, Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>
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