Mira Murati's deposition in Musk v. Altman is the first substantive inside account of Sam Altman's November 2023 removal as OpenAI CEO. The board cited a single reason for firing him: Altman was 'not consistently candid in his communications with the board.' Until now, that vague charge was the entire public record.
The trial exhibits and witness testimony reframe what looked like a chaotic, hour-by-hour public spectacle into something with more internal structure. Murati, who briefly became interim CEO during the five-day crisis, is the central figure. What she knew, when she knew it, and what she told the board are the load-bearing details this piece excavates.
The full story is worth reading not for the conclusion, which the industry already lived through, but for the specific sequence of communications and the gap between what was said publicly and what was happening internally. If you followed this story in 2023 and thought you understood it, you probably did not.
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