The latest development in the ongoing legal drama between Elon Musk and OpenAI brings another interesting new twist. The billionaire’s lawyer claimed in a recent court filing that Musk “does not use a computer”. This was first reported by Wired. The statement was reportedly made in a filing that was submitted in response to accusations from OpenAI that Musk and his AI startup, xAI, had failed to comply with discovery obligations in the lawsuit Musk filed earlier this year. The claim, however, is now being questioned after multiple posts by Musk himself appear to contradict it.
On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter and now owned by Musk, he has repeatedly referred to using a laptop. In one post from December 2024, Musk shared an image of what he described as his laptop, stating that he was testing Starlink’s in-flight streaming capabilities while playing the game Diablo. In the photo, the laptop carries a large Dogecoin-themed sticker across its lid – something Musk appears fond of, noting that the sticker was given to him by a fan in Germany and calling it too cool to lose.
In another post dated 1 June 2025, Musk doubled down on his affection for the same machine, writing, “Still using my ancient PC laptop with the @DOGE sticker made long ago by a fan.” The laptop, identified in the photo as a Gigabyte Aero – popular among PC gamers – suggests that he at least occasionally uses it for personal or professional tasks.
Even earlier, in February 2024, Musk posted about buying a new PC laptop. In the now-viral tweet, he complained that Microsoft’s setup process forced users to create an account before accessing the device, effectively giving its AI access to his computer. “This is messed up,” Musk wrote, asking others if they’d seen the same restriction. The very next day, he tagged Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in another post, asking the company to restore the option to skip Microsoft account login during setup.
Given these public posts, Musk’s legal team’s claim that he doesn’t use a computer is raising eyebrows.
The context behind this strange contradiction lies in Musk’s ongoing lawsuit against Sam Altman, OpenAI, and Microsoft. Filed in March 2024, Musk accuses the trio of steering OpenAI away from its original nonprofit mission, instead turning it into a for-profit operation dominated by Microsoft’s commercial interests. At the heart of the lawsuit is Musk’s claim that OpenAI’s GPT-4 was never meant to be monetised at the scale it has reached.
The legal filing claiming Musk doesn’t use a computer came after OpenAI asked for documentation and records that could include emails or files created on a computer. Musk’s legal team responded by stating that it had searched his phone and email, and insisted that there was no need to search a computer – because, they claimed, he doesn’t use one.
Whether this statement was made to limit document production or as a genuine claim remains unclear. But it adds another layer of intrigue to the Musk vs Altman saga, which has already been full of surprising turns – from power struggles and secret board meetings to dramatic blog posts and corporate U-turns.
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