New Delhi, March 17 -- Elon Musk has never let a court filing speak for itself. Posting on X today, ahead of what promises to be one of the most dramatic corporate trials in recent memory, the world's richest man offered an unexpected assurance: "Btw, the proceeds of any legal victory in the OpenAI case will be donated to charity. I will in no way enrich myself."

The lawsuit centres on the founding of OpenAI in 2015, which Musk helped establish as a nonprofit with a clear and stated mission: to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity, not private profit. He donated about $38 million to that cause, operating on the understanding that the technology would be held in public trust.

What happened next, Musk alleges, was a...