Jury selection in Musk v. Altman: ‘People don’t like him’

TechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechAICloseAIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All AINewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsJury selection in Musk v. Altman: ‘People don’t like him’Elon Musk’s public persona is an issue.Elon Musk’s public persona is an issue.by Richard LawlerCloseRichard LawlerSenior News EditorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Richard LawlerApr 28, 2026, 3:39 AM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty ImagesPart OfElon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAIsee all updates Richard LawlerCloseRichard LawlerPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Richard Lawler is a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget.On Monday, the courtroom battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman over alleged broken promises at OpenAI started, as usual, with jury selection. The only tricky part? A lot of the prospective jurors already have an opinion about Elon Musk, and it’s not a good one.The Verge reporter Elizabeth Lopatto, who was there at the courthouse, quoted statements from some of the juror questionnaires:“Elon Musk is a greedy, racist, homophobic piece of garbage.”“Elon Musk is a world-class jerk.”“I very much dislike Tesla. As a woman of color, I am very aware of the damaging statements and actions Elon Musk has enacted and been a part of.”RelatedMusk vs. Altman is here, and it’s going to get messyElon Musk departs DC with a black eye and a tattered reputationElon Musk paid for our attention, but the price to keep it is getting higherMusk’s lawyers took issue with some of the people who said they already don’t like Musk and tried to get them struck from the pool of possible jurors for cause. However, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said, “The reality is that people don’t like him… Many people don’t like him, but that doesn’t mean that Americans nevertheless can’t have integrity for the judicial process.” While the responses above may not reflect the opinions of the nine people selected for the jury, the chosen group includes some who said they may not like Musk or have negative opinions about AI technology, but wouldn’t let that interfere with how they see the facts of the case.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Richard LawlerCloseRichard LawlerSenior News EditorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Richard LawlerAICloseAIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All AIElon MuskCloseElon MuskPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Elon MuskLawCloseLawPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All LawNewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsOpenAICloseOpenAIPosts from this topic will be…

This excerpt is published under fair use for community discussion. Read the full article at The Verge.