Whereas testifying on Thursday in federal courtroom, Elon Musk appeared to point that his AI lab could have used OpenAI’s fashions to coach xAI’s personal. He touched upon the subject whereas sitting on the witness stand answering cross-examination questions from an OpenAI lawyer amid his ongoing authorized battle towards the ChatGPT-maker.
That is the change, as greatest as WIRED might seize it:
OpenAI Lawyer William Savitt: Are you aware what distillation is?
Musk: It means to make use of one AI mannequin to coach one other AI mannequin.
Savitt: Has xAI carried out that with OpenAI?
Musk: Typically all of the AI firms [do that].
Savitt: In order that’s a sure.
Musk: Partly.
Distillation is a way the place a smaller AI mannequin is educated to imitate the conduct of a bigger, extra succesful mannequin, making it cheaper and quicker to run whereas preserving a lot of its efficiency.
OpenAI’s lawyer, William Savitt, then requested whether or not OpenAI’s know-how had been utilized in any technique to develop xAI.
Savitt: Has OpenAI know-how been utilized in any technique to develop xAI?
Musk: It’s commonplace apply to make use of different AIs to validate your AI.
OpenAI and xAI didn’t instantly reply to WIRED’s request for remark.
OpenAI has been making an attempt to forestall its rivals from distilling its AI fashions, specifically, the Chinese language AI lab DeepSeek. In a February 2026 memo to a Home committee, OpenAI wrote that it has “taken steps to guard and harden our fashions towards distillation.” In that memo, OpenAI mentioned it was targeted on making certain a taking part in area wherein “China can’t advance autocratic AI by appropriating and repackaging American innovation.”
The Trump administration has additionally taken steps to forestall Chinese language firms from distilling American AI fashions. Michael Kratsios, the White Home’s director of the workplace of science and know-how coverage, mentioned in an April 2026 memo that it might share data with US AI firms about international distillation. Kratsios mentioned in a post on X that the “US authorities is dedicated to the free and truthful improvement of AI applied sciences throughout a aggressive ecosystem.”
American AI labs have used one another’s AI fashions in different methods, to check progress and assess security. However in as we speak’s aggressive panorama, some AI firms have utterly lower off rival labs. In August 2025, Anthropic blocked OpenAI’s entry to its Claude coding fashions after the corporate alleged that its phrases of service had been violated. Extra lately, Anthropic cut off xAI from using its AI models for coding as properly.
In his multiday cross-examination of Musk, Savitt has questioned Musk about his makes an attempt to imagine management of OpenAI and, subsequently, his quest to beat the ChatGPT-maker. On Wednesday, Savitt offered emails and texts from 2017 to assist a line of questions as as to whether Musk squeezed OpenAI by withholding funding and hiring away key researchers.
