Musk's Lawyer Claims He Doesn't Use a Computer—His Own Posts Say Otherwise

Hans India

4 hours ago

A new twist has emerged in the ongoing legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI, as the billionaire's lawyer made a bold claim: Musk 'does not use a computer.' The statement, included in a recent court filing and first reported by Wired, is now drawing skepticism—especially in light of Musk's own social media posts that seem to directly contradict it.
The unusual claim came as part of a response to OpenAI's demands for additional documentation in their legal standoff with Musk and his AI startup, xAI. OpenAI has asked for files and data that could potentially be stored on a computer. But Musk's legal team insisted that searching a computer was unnecessary—because, they argued, he simply doesn't use one.
However, Musk's digital footprint suggests otherwise.
In a widely seen post from December 2024, Musk shared a photo of his laptop while testing Starlink's in-flight streaming capabilities mid-flight. The image featured a gaming laptop with a prominent Dogecoin sticker. Musk wrote that the sticker was a gift from a fan in Germany and added that it was 'too cool to lose.'
Then, on June 1, 2025, Musk again referred to the same laptop, saying, 'Still using my ancient PC laptop with the @DOGE sticker made long ago by a fan.' The laptop was identified as a Gigabyte Aero, a model known for high performance and favoured by PC gamers, suggesting he uses it at least occasionally for either work or recreation.
Musk has even weighed in on tech setup frustrations. In February 2024, he tweeted about his experience buying a new laptop and being required to create a Microsoft account just to finish setting it up. 'This is messed up,' he wrote in the post, expressing concern that this gave Microsoft's AI access to his machine. The following day, he tagged Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in another post, urging the company to restore the option to skip that setup step.
These online posts have triggered fresh scrutiny of the court claim that Musk doesn't use a computer. Whether this assertion was a legal strategy meant to narrow the scope of discovery, or an earnest statement, remains unclear. But for many, it appears to strain credibility.
At the heart of the legal fight is Musk's March 2024 lawsuit against Sam Altman, OpenAI, and Microsoft. Musk accuses the defendants of transforming OpenAI from its original nonprofit mission into a profit-driven enterprise heavily influenced by Microsoft. He argues that GPT-4—central to OpenAI's success—was never intended to be commercialised to its current scale.
Musk's legal team has said it searched his phone and email for responsive records, but drew the line at searching any computers. Critics argue the contradiction between that claim and Musk's public tech habits only deepens the drama.
Whether this curious detail will influence the legal proceedings is yet to be seen. But in a case already filled with boardroom intrigue, philosophical clashes over AI ethics, and high-stakes corporate maneuvering, the question of whether Elon Musk uses a computer is proving to be more than just a technicality.