OAKLAND, Calif. - Elon Musk arrived before opening statements began for a high-stakes trial against Sam Altman on Tuesday – but it wasn't in a Tesla.
Elon Musk arrives in black Cadillac
What we know:
Instead, Musk arrived in a black Cadillac, which his team drove underneath the Oakland federal courthouse to park as reporters and bystanders snapped photos.
What we don't know:
Elon Musk and his entourage arrive at Oakland federal court ahead of the trial against Sam Altman. April 28, 2026
It wasn't immediately clear why Musk wasn't in one of the cars created by the company he is chief executive officer for – perhaps it's because a Cadillac is roomier than a Tesla?
But Musk has shown up in a Cadillac before.
One Reddit entry from a year ago, shows a picture of Musk exiting a Cadillac in front of the Pentagon, and the post headline reads that he was "afraid to be seen driving a Tesla."
A Facebook post from 2021 also claims that Musck took his Cybertruck inspiration from a 1930s Cadillac, which now makes electric vehicles.
Altman arrived in a white SUV.
Neither men spoke to the media or exited their cars in public view.
Musk v. Altman
Big picture view:
The trial centers on the 2015 birth of ChatGPT maker OpenAI as a nonprofit startup primarily funded by Musk before evolving into a capitalistic venture now valued at $852 billion.
Musk's civil lawsuit accuses Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology. The lawsuit alleges they shifted into a moneymaking mode behind his back.
OpenAI has brushed off Musk’s allegations as an unfounded case of sour grapes that’s aimed at undercutting its rapid growth and bolstering Musk’s own xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor.