Public transcript

BREAKING: Elon Musk's First Interview Since Jury Rejected Claim Against Altman's OpenAI

By: Forbes
Length: 26 min
Language: English
Text from: the video's captions
Transcribed: 13 October 2026

Read the full transcript Open on YouTube

Notes in English.

Summary

At a Forbes innovators dinner, Elon Musk gives his first interview after a jury rejected his legal claim concerning OpenAI's for-profit conversion. He argues the case sets a dangerous precedent allowing charities to be converted into for-profits and says he will appeal. The conversation then covers his companies, AI timelines, space-based compute, and future opportunities like tunnels, synthetic medicine, and electric aircraft.

Key points

Musk says the jury verdict means the case was decided on narrow grounds, and he believes OpenAI was 'stolen one piece at a time' from a non-profit.
He warns that converting a non-profit into an $800 billion for-profit company undermines all charitable giving in America, so he will appeal.
He predicts AI smarter than humans in every way, including innovation, is probably a year or two away.
He forecasts that in about five years digital intelligence will exceed the sum of all human intelligence, with 100 million to a billion humanoid robots.
He expects the economy to roughly double in five to seven years due to accelerating AI-driven output.
He outlines a vision of solar-powered AI satellites in space, potentially a terawatt per year launched from Earth and a petawatt per year using a lunar base and mass driver.
He highlights untapped opportunities in tunneling (the Boring Company), synthetic RNA 'digital medicine', and electric aircraft.
Asked about his legacy, he says he wants people to say he 'played a useful role in the advancement of civilization.'
He declines to comment on a possible SpaceX S-1, citing a quiet period.
He names Nikola Tesla, Edison, Ben Franklin, Newton, Einstein, and Henry Ford as innovators he admires, and Jensen Huang among living contemporaries.

Questions it answers

00:00Number one innovator

Why is Elon Musk being honored at this event?

Forbes named Musk the number one innovator on its Forbes 250 list, and he says the ranking was not close. He joins a dinner of fellow innovators to take questions.

Forbes ranked Musk number one on its 250 innovators list.
He appears at a Forbes innovators dinner.

00:53OpenAI verdict reaction

What does Musk think of the jury verdict in the OpenAI case?

He says the jury decided on narrow grounds and believes OpenAI was 'stolen one piece at a time' from a non-profit. He warns the conversion to an $800 billion for-profit sets a dangerous precedent that could undermine all charitable giving in America.

Musk believes the charity was unjustly converted by degrees.
The clause reverting stock to the charity upon AGI was recently removed.
He sees the case as precedent for 'looting charities.'

03:36Running four companies

How did Musk end up leading four major companies?

He says it 'more or less just happened,' stemming from a college desire to change the world through sustainable energy, brain-machine interfaces, and eventually AI. He declines to comment on merging companies or a SpaceX S-1 due to a quiet period.

He wanted to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.
Neuralink aims to restore speech, eyesight, and walking.
He won't comment on a SpaceX S-1.

05:59Historical role models

Which innovators does Musk admire?

He names Nikola Tesla, Edison, Ben Franklin, Shakespeare, Newton, and Einstein, praising Henry Ford for inventing mass manufacturing of complex objects. Among living innovators he singles out Jensen Huang at Nvidia.

Ford created the automotive industry and mass manufacturing.
Jensen Huang is doing great work on AI computers.

13:38AI excitement and fear

How does Musk feel about AI right now?

He says he is simultaneously petrified and excited, with AI breakthroughs happening constantly. He predicts AI unequivocally smarter than humans in every way, including innovation, is probably a year or two away.

Breakthroughs occur daily, by his telling.
He hopes AI 'is nice to us.'

15:29Five-year predictions

What does Musk expect by around 2031?

He predicts digital intelligence will exceed the sum of all human intelligence, there will be at least 100 million and maybe a billion humanoid robots, and the economy will roughly double in five to seven years.

Digital intelligence surpassing all human intelligence in ~5 years.
100 million to a billion humanoid robots predicted.
Economy doubling in 5-7 years.

17:00Space-based AI compute

When will there be data centers in space and lunar or Mars colonies?

He doesn't give colony timelines but argues space is the only way to access power at scale, since all human energy use is less than a trillionth of the sun's output. He estimates a terawatt per year of solar-powered AI satellites launched from Earth, and a petawatt per year using a lunar base with a mass driver.

SpaceX has 10,000 satellites in orbit now.
A lunar mass driver could enable a petawatt per year of AI compute.
None of this breaks physics, he says.

21:48Undeployed ideas and legacy

What big ideas hasn't Musk deployed yet, and what legacy does he want?

He points to tunneling (the Boring Company), synthetic RNA 'digital medicine' that could cure almost anything, and electric aircraft. On legacy, he wants people to say he 'played a useful role in the advancement of civilization.'

He encourages others to start tunneling companies.
Synthetic RNA makes medicine 'digital.'
Legacy: a useful role in advancing civilization.

Notes

OpenAI Verdict and Appeal

Musk addresses the Oakland jury verdict, saying the jury decided on narrow grounds rather than whether unjust enrichment occurred or the charity could be dissolved.
He argues OpenAI was "stolen one piece at a time," beginning with a small capped for-profit whose stock would revert to the charity upon achieving AGI — a clause he says was removed just in recent weeks.
He calls an $800 billion for-profit emerging from a non-profit a dangerous precedent that could undermine all charitable giving in America, and confirms he will appeal.

His Companies and Priorities

Musk says running four major companies "more or less just happened"; in college he wanted to change the world, focusing on sustainable energy, brain-machine interfaces, and (later) AI.
He describes Neuralink work as "Jesus-level": restoring speech, eyesight via direct brain interfaces, and enabling people to walk again.
SpaceX aims to make life multi-planetary; he hopes for the first fully reusable orbital rocket breakthrough later this year, and estimates roughly a million tons of payload is needed for a self-sustaining Mars civilization.
He declines to comment on merging companies or a SpaceX S-1, citing a quiet period.

AI Predictions

He is "simultaneously" petrified and excited; AI smarter than humans in every way, including innovation, is "probably not more than a year or two away."
In about five years (by 2031), he predicts digital intelligence will exceed the sum of all human intelligence, 100 million to a billion humanoid robots, and an economy roughly twice its current size in five to seven years.

Space-Based AI Compute

SpaceX has 10,000 satellites in orbit; Starship could launch over 10,000 communication satellites per year.
He frames energy via the sun: all human energy use is less than a trillionth of the sun's output, so climbing the Kardashev scale requires going to space.
A terawatt per year of solar-powered AI satellites could be launched from Earth (~10 million tons of payload at 100 kW per ton); a lunar base with a mass driver could reach a petawatt per year.

Future Opportunities and Legacy

He encourages others to start tunneling companies, sees opportunity in synthetic RNA "digital medicine" that could "cure almost anything," and in electric aircraft.
On legacy: "You played a useful role in the advancement of civilization."

Text from the video's own captions. Summary and notes written by AI from the transcript, so check anything important against the recording.