Sam Altman et al. “May Not Inquire into Musk’s Ketamine Use” at Trial of Musk Suit Over OpenAI

From today’s order by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers (N.D. Cal.) on a motion to exclude certain evidence in Musk v. Altman:

Musk seeks to exclude evidence related to his political activities, possible ketamine use, attendance at Burning Man in 2017, and relationship with Shivon Zilis as irrelevant and irreparably prejudicial.

The Court agrees with Musk that defendants may not inquire into Musk’s ketamine use because, although any supposed lapse in memory resulting from ketamine during Musk’s negotiations with OpenAI may be relevant, defendants could not point to other evidence in the record that suggests that Musk used ketamine or that could explain the effects of ketamine. The Court grants the motion on that basis.

The Court denies the remainder of the motion. Musk’s relationship with Zilis, which Musk’s counsel described as “at times a romantic relationship,” is highly relevant to Zilis’s credibility and Zilis’s role as a conduit between Musk and OpenAI. Musk’s attendance at Burning Man in 2017 is relevant to the attention he paid to his negotiations with OpenAI, which supposedly occurred during the same period.

Finally, Musk’s political activities are relevant to the extent that he attempted to use political power to harm competitors like OpenAI through projects like Stargate. The Court cautions counsel that too much inquiry into any of these topics may become unduly prejudicial under Rule 403.

There’s more on many other pieces of evidence in the opinion.