Key Highlights
- Elon Musk said in court that most cryptocurrencies are scams during the ongoing OpenAI lawsuit in Oakland.
- The comment came up while discussing OpenAI’s early idea of raising funds through an ICO, a crypto-based fundraising method.
- Musk’s statement adds to the wider dispute with OpenAI over its mission shift and reflects his changing views on crypto over time.
Following the ongoing court case between AI firm OpenAI and Elon Musk, the tech billionaire said in court that most cryptocurrencies are scams.
The statement came up when he was asked about crypto in connection with OpenAI’s early idea of using an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to raise money. Musk replied that “some of them have merit, but most of them are scams,” according to an X post from New York Times reporter Mike Isaac.
He made the statement as the case proceeded into the third day of trial at a courthouse in Oakland.
What the dispute is about
This case represents a long-running dispute between Musk and OpenAI, a company he helped to start in 2015. Musk is suing OpenAI, alleging it moved away from its original purpose as a nonprofit group focused on building safe artificial intelligence for public benefit. He argues that the company changed direction after partnering with Microsoft and began building and selling commercial AI products.
The discussion brought cryptocurrency into the case, particularly regarding how OpenAI initially considered raising funds and how its structure evolved.
In court, Musk described the shift as OpenAI having “[stolen] a charity.” OpenAI has rejected this claim, stating that Musk was aware from the beginning that it could grow and change into a for-profit model. The company also said he knew about early funding ideas, including a potential ICO, which would have allowed the project to raise money by selling digital tokens to the public.
What is an ICO
An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is used widely in the crypto space, where new projects create tokens and sell them to raise funds.
This approach became widely used in the late 2010s but is also associated with failed projects that raised funds and later collapsed, leaving investors with losses. This context partly explains why Musk’s comment in court drew attention, as he linked the broader crypto market to risks and fraud concerns.
Musk’s relationship with crypto
Musk has had a strong relationship with cryptocurrency over the years. During the 2020-2021 crypto boom, he was among the prominent supporters of digital assets. His company, Tesla, invested about $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in 2021 and briefly accepted Bitcoin as payment.
He also influenced interest in Dogecoin through social media posts, contributing to significant price movements at the time.
However, Tesla later reduced its exposure to Bitcoin by selling about 75% of its holdings in 2022. According to a recent filing, the company still holds 11,509 Bitcoin, valued at about $786 million after a $222 million markdown in early 2026.
These coins were originally purchased for about $386 million in 2021, meaning that the investment still gained value overall despite market swings.
Musk’s recent comments suggest a more critical view of the broader crypto sector, though they were made within the context of the ongoing legal dispute with OpenAI.
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