In August 2017, OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman found himself in Elon Musk's haunted mansion, where the billionaire gifted him Tesla Model 3s but demanded control over AI development. ‘He actually thought he was going to hit me,’ said Brockman, reflecting on a heated negotiation that nearly ended with Musk cutting off funding.

The meeting was part of broader negotiations to establish a for-profit arm at OpenAI, which Musk wanted to control. Sutskever and Brockman resisted, proposing shared control, but Musk rejected the offer. The fraught interactions hinted at deeper tensions between founders, underpinning OpenAI's argument that their hero turned out less than heroic.

Brockman recounted how he and his colleagues considered voting Musk off the board in 2018 due to persistent disagreement over direction. They eventually decided it was best not to alienate him completely but kept him informed through Musk’s trusted adviser, Shivon Zilis.

Despite the drama, OpenAI managed to forge ahead with its mission. However, the story underscores the challenges of aligning personalities and visions in groundbreaking tech ventures, especially when dealing with larger-than-life figures like Elon Musk.