OpenAI's 'jackass' donkey statue nearly enters Musk trial evidence
A gold donkey statue commemorating a safety dispute with Elon Musk almost became court evidence.
Wednesday's proceedings in Musk v. Altman featured an unusual exhibit: a small gold donkey statue with two legs, a butt, and a tail, inscribed with 'Joshua Achiam, never stop being a jackass for safety.' The statue was a gift to Achiam from then-OpenAI employees Dario Amodei and David Luan, commemorating a 2018 incident where Achiam interrupted Elon Musk's parting speech to warn that Musk's pursuit of AGI at Tesla could compromise safety. Musk allegedly responded by calling Achiam a jackass.
OpenAI's attorney Bradley Wilson handed the statue to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, arguing it corroborated testimony about the company's culture of standing up to powerful figures. Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff called it irrelevant and prejudicial. The judge expressed reluctance to keep it as official evidence, and OpenAI ultimately decided not to display it to the nine jurors. Achiam testified that the statue represented his colleagues' support for safety principles, and disclosed he has sold at least $10 million in OpenAI shares and still holds tens of millions more. The trial continues to focus on Musk's claims that OpenAI misused his $38 million in donations to build a for-profit giant.
- OpenAI tried to introduce a gold donkey statue given to safety researcher Joshua Achiam as evidence in the Musk v. Altman trial.
- The statue commemorated a 2018 incident where Musk allegedly called Achiam a 'jackass' for interrupting Musk's speech about AGI safety concerns.
- Judge Gonzalez Rogers showed reluctance to accept the statue as evidence, and OpenAI ultimately did not show it to jurors.
Why It Matters
The spat highlights deep tensions between safety culture and power dynamics at the highest levels of AI development.