• Sam Altman showed up in court as jury selection began in a civil trial between him and Elon Musk.
• Some potential jurors offered unfavorable views about AI — and Musk.
• Musk sued OpenAI, Altman, and OpenAI president Greg Brockman two years ago.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made an unexpected appearance in a California courtroom Monday as jury selection in his high-stakes legal feud with Elon Musk kicked off.

Altman, who wore a dark-colored suit and white shirt, was spotted inside the Oakland courtroom, where some potential jurors in the federal civil trial shared unfavorable views about artificial intelligence — and Musk, the world's richest man.

"Elon doesn't care about people, just like our president," one prospective juror told US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

The man, who works in construction and described himself as a "meme junky" and a "dying breed" who still gets print newspaper subscriptions, added that he thinks Musk only cares about money.

Another prospective juror who works for the city of Oakland said he has a strong opinion about Musk. He said that he would do his "best" to approach the case without bias, even though he called Musk a "jerk" in a pre-trial jury questionnaire.

Musk was not in attendance for day one of the trial between two of the tech industry's most powerful billionaires. Since it is a civil trial, the parties are not required to appear unless they are testifying. Up until now, Musk and Altman have largely left the matter to their lawyers, aside from the occasional online jab.

The Tesla CEO sued OpenAI, Altman, and OpenAI president Greg Brockman two years ago, alleging that they intentionally "deceived" him into cofounding the company with them in 2015.

Musk alleges in his lawsuit that he poured tens of millions into OpenAI to support its founding mission as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the public's benefit, only for that mission to later be abandoned, in part, through the company's partnership with Microsoft. Microsoft is also named as a defendant in Musk's lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks more than $100 billion in damages, along with sweeping changes to the structure of the $850 billion company behind ChatGPT. The case comes as OpenAI is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering.

Earlier Monday, Musk and OpenAI traded barbs on Musk's X platform about the case, with Musk referring to Altman as "Scam Altman" and OpenAI ripping Musk's lawsuit as a "baseless and jealous bid to derail a competitor."

Musk is expected to testify in the weeks-long trial, along with Altman and other tech execs like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Some potential jurors questioned on Monday told the court that they had reservations surrounding AI.

A registered nurse said she doesn't trust AI and isn't a fan of how the rapidly advancing technology is being used in the workplace.

"It's just giving me more work to do," said the woman who explained that her employer uses AI tools to process patient records that she still has to review for errors.

One woman who works in the psychiatric patient care unit at Stanford University said she had some concerns about AI but could approach the case with an open mind.

"I personally don't use it much because I do find that I have to double check everything, and at this point, I might as well do it myself," said the woman, who was ultimately chosen to sit on the jury.

A different juror prospect, a PhD student in genetics, said she has a ChatGPT subscription and uses it, along with Anthropic's Claude, to write code and emails.

Concerns of the juror prospects were also reflected outside the courthouse, where protesters gathered to demonstrate against AI. A person in a robot suit wore a sign that said, "Altman's AI enslaver." A giant inflatable tube figure read: "Elon sucks."

By the end of Monday, nine jurors were selected for the trial. Opening arguments are set to begin Tuesday.

At one point, Musk's attorney, Steven Molo, asked the judge to dismiss a juror prospect who called Musk a "greedy, racist, homophobic piece of garbage" in her questionnaire and another who wrote that Musk is a "world-class jerk."

"Look, the reality is that people don't like him," the judge told Musk's legal team about their client. "But that doesn't mean that Americans, nevertheless, can't have integrity for the judicial process."

• Lawyers for Michael Jeffries say he is incompetent ahead of his October sex trafficking trial.
• At a hearing Tuesday, a defense expert said the ex-CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch is severely impaired.
• She also alluded to a prison tape, in which Jeffries said doctors "better find me incompetent."

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries was recorded on prison tape last year saying doctors 'better find me incompetent," a defense psychologist testified on Tuesday.

The testimony came as Jeffries sat in a federal courtroom in Central Islip, New York, for the start of a three-day mental competency hearing.

Jeffries, 81, is fighting sex-trafficking charges that allege that while helming the international retail giant, he used his wealth and power to abuse dozens of aspiring male models.

His lawyers are hoping to prove he is mentally incompetent to stand trial alongside two co-defendants — long-term romantic partner Matthew Smith and a third man in their employ. Jury selection is scheduled to start on October 26.

Federal prosecutors maintain Jeffries is competent. It's a conclusion they say is supported by their own doctors and more than 100 of Jeffries' phone calls with Smith.

The calls were recorded last year, during the ex-CEO's four-month stay in the mental health unit of a federal prison in North Carolina.

Defense lawyer Brian H. Bieber raised one potentially damaging tape early in Tuesday's hearing. He asked his first defense expert if there is a tape in which Jeffries is "hoping for a good outcome?"

The witness, Jacqueline C. Valdes, a clinical neuro-psychologist, said yes, and referenced a recorded conversation where Jeffries says, "You better find me incompetent," in reference to his prison mental health examiners.

"He was just saying things without a filter," Valdes explained, addressing US District Court Judge Nusrat Choudhury. "It's just another example of the disinhibited behavior I was talking about earlier," Valdes told the judge.

Other examples include Jeffries using "words like bitch'" in conversations with prison mental health workers, Valdes said. "He was repeatedly described as being a little too personal," she told the judge.

"It happened with me," during her examinations of Jeffries earlier this year, she added. "He was sometimes jocular, sometimes too personal in his interactions with me."

Defense lawyers have argued that Jeffries has a ten-year history of severe cognitive impairment from advancing Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurodegenerative condition.

Jeffries' erratic behavior is symptomatic of his illness, and could cause him to "blurt out" self-incriminating statements in front of the judge or prospective jurors, the defense has argued.

On Tuesday, Valdes said Jeffries' inappropriate behavior is part of a spectrum of dementia symptoms made worse by the lingering effects of a fall during a trip to South Africa in 2018, four years after his retirement.

Even before his October 2024 indictment, Jeffries was prone to hallucinations, wandering, delusional thinking, and "acting out his dreams," symptoms she said have been helped somewhat by medication.

Smith told her during a 2023 interview that Jeffries was "found in a neighbor's yard, sitting in his underwear and being unable to move," Valdes said.

Now free on $10 million bail, Jeffries sat quietly at the defense table throughout Tuesday's testimony, his mouth set in a tight frown. He turned his head to look at whoever spoke, and kept his hands clasped in front of him or fiddled with a pen.

Speaking with others is Jeffries' strong suit, Valdes told the judge, again referencing the prison tapes.

"He can converse," she testified. "Language abilities are actually his strongest ability."

But scans show evidence of brain atrophy and other markers of dementia, she said, and he tests extremely low in memory and comprehension.

Last year, he appeared flummoxed when asked to name as many fruits and vegetables as he could, she said, calling his response "on the bottom 3% for his age." His recall of a list of 16 words was at the bottom 1% for his age, she said.

Federal prosecutors counter that in December — after his release from four months of examinations and treatment at Butner — their own doctors found Jeffries could understand his charges and assist in his defense, the criteria for competency to stand trial.

They plan to call three of their own psych experts to testify during the hearing — and to play sections of last year's prison tape in court.

Jeffries, Smith, and employee James T. Jacobson have all pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges. They face mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years and as much as life in prison if convicted.

• A competency hearing is set to begin Tuesday in the sex trafficking case against Michael Jeffries.
• His lawyers hope to prove the ex-CEO of retail giant Abercrombie & Fitch is mentally unfit for trial.
• They say he has dementia and could "blurt out self-incriminating statements" in front of a jury.

As CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch some 20 years ago, Michael Jeffries helmed an international retail giant whose advertising was steeped in racy images of beachside adventure and shirtless young men.

On Tuesday, Jeffries, 81, must appear in a Long Island courtroom for a sex trafficking case that alleges he used his power and wealth to abuse dozens of aspiring male models.

Jeffries' lawyers are set to argue during three days of hearings this week that their client, now 81, is mentally incompetent to be tried on those charges.

The ex-CEO, who pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2024, has Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia, a neurodegenerative disease, his lawyers say. Jeffries also suffers continuing effects from a traumatic brain injury, they say; three defense experts are poised to testify.

Should he be required to stand trial — jury selection is scheduled to start October 26 — Jeffries would not understand the proceedings or be able to assist in his defense, his lawyers have said.

His dementia may even disrupt the trial, they argue.

Jeffries is prone to memory lapses and "inappropriate behavior" that could spill over into the courtroom, his lawyers warned in a court filing last year.

"He may blurt out self-incriminating statements or engage in erratic behavior, which would undermine his credibility and risk prejudicing the judge or jury against him," they wrote.

Prosecutors counter that Jeffries's condition has improved after more than four months of mental health treatment and evaluation at a federal correctional institution in Butner, North Carolina.

They plan to present testimony from three experts during the three-day hearing to prove he is now competent to stand trial.

They may also present some of more than 100 audio recordings of phone calls between Jeffries and his romantic partner, Matthew Smith — a co-defendant in the case — from Jeffries' time at Butner.

Prosecutors allege that Jeffries, Smith, and their employee, co-defendant James Jacobson, ran an international sex trafficking and prostitution business that targeted men who were young, financially insolvent, and eager to become models for the top brand.

The alleged victims were abused between 2008 and 2015 in a series of attacks at drug-fueled "sex events" across the US and at luxury hotels in Europe, Morocco, and Saint Barthelemy, according to a 2024 indictment.

Smith and Jacobson have also pleaded not guilty to the charges. All three are currently free on bail.

Jeffries earned "tens of millions of dollars per year" at the height of his career, prior to his retirement in 2014, according to prosecutors. He has posted $10 million bail.

Prosecutors have seized more than $11 million in cash from a trust fund controlled by Jeffries, according to court records.

All three defendants face a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence and as much as life in prison if convicted.

O lucro da Tesla caiu mais do que o esperado, já que o aumento acentuado dos custos reduziu um trimestre recorde de vendas de veículos.

O lucro ajustado foi de 50 centavos por ação no período, uma queda de 31% em relação ao ano anterior, informou a empresa em um comunicado nesta quarta-feira (22). Analistas esperavam uma média de 54 centavos, segundo estimativas compiladas pela Bloomberg. A receita de US$ 28,1 bilhões superou as expectativas.  

Os resultados mostram que a fabricante de veículos elétricos não está imune aos custos crescentes que afetaram a indústria automobilística do país ao longo do ano, com a reformulação radical das políticas do presidente dos EUA, Donald Trump. As despesas operacionais da Tesla dispararam 50%, para US$ 3,4 bilhões no trimestre, enquanto a empresa espera um impacto de cerca de US$ 400 milhões com as tarifas americanas. 

O CEO Elon Musk promete um futuro construído em torno da inteligência artificial, robôs humanoides e tecnologia de direção autônoma — pontos que ele destacou na teleconferência da Tesla com investidores. Os investidores aderiram amplamente à visão de Musk, impulsionando as ações da empresa em alta de 8,7% no acumulado do ano até o fechamento de quarta-feira. 

Mas há incerteza quanto ao cronograma de desenvolvimento desses negócios e aos custos associados à sua expansão. O negócio principal da Tesla, a venda de veículos, também enfrenta um escrutínio renovado, à medida que a concorrência se intensifica e os incentivos fiscais dos EUA são gradualmente eliminados. 

“Estamos entrando em um momento em que há muitas dúvidas sobre a trajetória de crescimento dos lucros de curto e médio prazo para a Tesla”, disse Garrett Nelson, analista sênior de pesquisa de ações da CFRA. 

O diretor financeiro Vaibhav Taneja reconheceu que a concorrência e as tarifas representam obstáculos para a empresa.  

As ações da Tesla caíram 4,1% às 18h05 no pregão estendido em Nova York. As ações ampliaram as quedas após Musk concluir seus comentários introdutórios na teleconferência da Tesla, sinalizando a decepção dos investidores com o fato de a empresa ter oferecido apenas detalhes limitados. 

“O mercado está percebendo que a Tesla opera como uma plataforma de IA, mas reporta como uma montadora”, disse Haris Khurshid, diretor de investimentos da Karobaar Capital. Dec Mullarkey, diretor-gerente da SLC Management, disse que “não há muito aqui para inspirar os investidores”. 

A Tesla reiterou a declaração do trimestre anterior de que é “difícil mensurar” como as mudanças nas políticas comerciais e fiscais globais impactariam seus negócios e operações. A empresa prevê que os resultados dependam do ambiente econômico mais amplo, bem como da sua velocidade em acelerar os esforços de autonomia e aumentar a produção de produtos essenciais.

Analistas pesquisados ​​pela Bloomberg esperam que a Tesla relate o segundo ano consecutivo de queda nas entregas de veículos. 

Vendas recordes

No início deste mês, a Tesla relatou vendas recordes no terceiro trimestre, com os clientes correndo para aproveitar um crédito fiscal de US$ 7.500 para compras de veículos elétricos que expirou em 30 de setembro, proporcionando um impulso temporário ao principal negócio automotivo da empresa.

Na quarta-feira, a Tesla reportou US$ 417 milhões em receita com créditos regulatórios recebidos de outras montadoras que excedem os padrões de emissões — apenas um pouco abaixo do valor do trimestre anterior. Mudanças de política sob o governo Trump reduziram a demanda por esses créditos. A Tesla afirmou que prevê um declínio nesse segmento. 

Musk espera que o negócio de robotáxis da Tesla , lançado em Austin em junho, se expanda para até 10 áreas metropolitanas até o final do ano, caso a empresa receba as aprovações necessárias. Ele também afirmou que a empresa removerá a maioria dos operadores de segurança humana dos robotáxis em Austin ainda este ano. Não está claro quantos veículos estão operando atualmente lá, após o lançamento da fabricante de veículos elétricos com cerca de dez a vinte unidades. 

A Tesla também opera um serviço de transporte compartilhado na área da Baía de São Francisco que não é totalmente autônomo e se assemelha mais ao Uber. Possui licenças de teste para Arizona e Nevada. 

O fluxo de caixa livre foi de quase US$ 4 bilhões, um aumento significativo em relação ao ano anterior e bem acima da estimativa média dos analistas de US$ 1,25 bilhão.