Elon Musk's Lawyers Claim He Doesn't Use a Computer, Contradicting His Own Social Media Posts

Elon Musk's Lawyers Claim He 'Does Not Use a Computer'

Elon Musk's lawyers claimed that he "does not use a computer" in a Sunday court filing related to his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI. However, Musk has posted pictures or referred to his laptop on X several times in recent months, and public evidence suggests that he owns and appears to use at least one computer. Musk and his artificial intelligence startup xAI sued OpenAI in February 2024, alleging the company committed breach of contract by abandoning its founding agreement to develop AI "for the benefit of humanity," choosing instead "to maximize profits for Microsoft." The Sunday court filing was submitted in opposition to a Friday filing from OpenAI, which accused Musk and xAI of failing to fully comply with the discovery process. OpenAI alleges that Musk's counsel does not plan to collect any documents from him. In this weekend's filing, Musk's lawyers claim that they told OpenAI on June 14 that they were "conducting searches of Mr. Musk's mobile phone, having searched his emails, and that Mr. Musk does not use a computer." Musk and xAI Corp's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In the filing, Musk's legal team disputed claims that it was resisting discovery efforts. Multiple employees at X tell WIRED that while Musk primarily works from his mobile phone, he has occasionally been seen using a laptop. Musk has also made public statements about computers he appears to own in the recent past. In December 2024, Musk posted a picture of a laptop on X with a caption that begins, "This is a pic of my laptop." The post, made in reply to a 15-minute stream of a game from the Diablo video game series, claims that he was "testing Starlink streaming while in flight," suggesting that he was possibly using the laptop for professional purposes. Musk has streamed more than 10 times since August 2024, showing what appears to be the desktop layout of the game, usually saying that he is doing so to test Starlink's streaming capacity. Musk has also made more recent references to what appears to be the same laptop. In May 2025, Musk said on X that he is "Still using my ancient PC laptop with the @DOGE sticker made long ago by a fan." The post was in reply to a user who asked what his gaming set-up is and whether it's a "full gaming PC." That user had been replying to a different 15-minute stream of Diablo. The picture Musk posted in reply shows a black laptop with AERO branding, a style of computer that typically runs Windows and is popular with gamers, with a sticker of a dollar bill edited in homage to the memecoin "Doge." (The memecoin later appears to have inspired the name of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.) Musk says in the same post that the laptop is three years old, and that the sticker was given to him by a man in Germany.

'Techno King' Elon Musk Doesn't Own a Computer, His Lawyers Tell Court

A courtroom twist in Musk's war with OpenAI has revealed a stunningly bizarre detail about the self-described Techno King. He fancies himself the innovator of our time. "Disrupt" could be his middle name. Technology, it seems, is in his DNA. And yet, Elon Musk apparentlyâ€"supposedlyâ€"has a secret Luddite streak: he doesn't use a computer. The revelation didn't come from a biography or a tell-all interview. It came from a legal filing in the high-stakes, mud-slinging lawsuit between Musk and OpenAI, where the future of artificial intelligence is on trial in a Northern California courtroom. Amid thorny questions of corporate betrayal and billion-dollar secrets, this strange detail stole the show. Yes, you heard that correctly. It's not a joke from a late-night show. That's not me saying it. It's coming from Musk’s own lawyers. In a legal letter filed on June 22, Musk’s legal team pushed back against accusations from OpenAI that they were failing to turn over relevant documents. When OpenAI claimed Musk’s team was refusing to collect certain materials, his lawyers called the accusation "incorrect" and, in the process, dropped the bombshell. "Mr. Musk does not use a computer," his lawyers at Toberoff & Associates wrote on the first page of the three-page document. There’s just one problem with that claim: public evidence, including from Musk himself, suggests otherwise. While employees at X told WIRED Musk primarily works from his phone, they also note he has been seen using a laptop on occasion. More pointedly, Musk has referenced owning a computer in his own social media posts. In a December 2024 post on X, he shared an image with the text, “This is a pic of my laptop,†explaining that he was using it to test Starlink’s streaming capabilities in-flight. More recently, in May 2025, when asked about his gaming setup, Musk replied on X that he is “still using my ancient PC laptop with the @DOGE sticker made long ago by a fan.†This contradiction emerges from the messy "discovery" phase of his lawsuit against OpenAI, where he accuses CEO Sam Altman of betraying their founding mission. As both sides fight over internal documents, the battle has intensified. This context makes the "no computer" claim seem less like a personal quirk and more like a potential legal tactic to limit the scope of discoverable documents. After all, if there are no computers, there are no computer files to hand over. The Musk v. Altman case is a proxy war over the governance and ownership of AI. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, now portrays himself as its most prominent critic, arguing the company sold its soul to Microsoft. OpenAI, in turn, depicts Musk as a bitter ex-partner trying to interfere with a company he chose to leave. But for now, the legal drama is being overshadowed by a bizarre claim that is seemingly contradicted by Musk's own public statements: the man suing over the future of artificial intelligence may be trying to persuade a judge that he has personally abandoned one of the most fundamental tools of the digital world.

Elon Musk's lawyers claim he doesn't use a computer -- despite contradictory X posts

Lawyers for Elon Musk have claimed that the billionaire "does not use a computer" after OpenAI accused Musk of not complying with the discovery process in his lawsuit against the company. In a letter addressed to the judge overseeing the OpenAI case in Oakland, Musk's attorney, Jaymie Parkkinen, accused OpenAI of making false statements when the company asserted that Musk's legal team had "no plans to collect any documents" from either Musk himself or xAI, his competing artificial intelligence firm. In the letter, Parkkinen disputed this claim saying the lawyers for Musk had informed OpenAI that searches were being conducted on Musk's mobile phone and that the billionaire didn't use a computer. "Plaintiffs sent Defendants a letter informing them that Plaintiffs were conducting searches of Mr. Musk's mobile phone, having searched his emails, and that Mr. Musk does not use a computer," the filing reads. There are several pieces of public evidence to suggest that Musk does indeed have a computer. Several X employees who spoke to Wired on condition of anonymity, also said that while Musk typically prefers working from his phone, they had, on occasion, seen him using a laptop. Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune, made outside normal working hours. The filing is part of an ongoing case by Musk against Sam Altman and OpenAI. Musk, an OpenAI co-founder, has accused his former colleagues of betraying the company's founding mission to build artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco, Musk claimed OpenAI has effectively become a "closed-source" arm of Microsoft, prioritizing profit over public good. Musk's claims against OpenAI include breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices. His demands include asking the company to revert back to open source and an injunction to prevent OpenAI execs from profiting from AGI. The filing alleges that OpenAI's latest model, GPT-4, may qualify as artificial general intelligence -- and that its design remains secret due to commercial interests. "The internal details of GPT-4 are known only to OpenAI and, on information and belief, to Microsoft. GPT-4 is hence the opposite of 'open AI,'" Musk said in the suit. "And it is closed for propriety commercial reasons: Microsoft stands to make a fortune selling GPT-4 to the public, which would not be possible if OpenAI -- as it is required to do -- makes the technology freely available to the public." Musk, who contributed over $44 million to the nonprofit, argues his support has been twisted to serve a for-profit venture now valued at $80 billion. "Imagine donating to a nonprofit whose asserted mission is to protect the Amazon rainforest, but then the nonprofit creates a for-profit Amazonian logging company that uses the fruits of the donations to clear the rainforest," Musk said in the lawsuit. "That is the story of OpenAI, Inc."

Musk's lawyers say he doesn't use a computer -- despite dozens of his own laptop posts proving otherwise

Elon Musk is in a legal fight with OpenAI. But now, something strange has come up. His lawyers said that Musk doesn't use a computer. But many posts by Musk himself clearly show that he does use one. People are pointing out the contradiction. Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman since February 2024, saying they broke a promise to make AI for the good of humanity and instead started working to make money with Microsoft. The latest court fight is about sharing documents. OpenAI says Musk and his AI company xAI are not helping properly, as per the report by Wired. In June 2025, Musk's lawyers responded on Sunday, stating they are reviewing Musk's emails and mobile phone, but asserted that "Mr. Musk does not use a computer." But this claim is being questioned because Musk has shared photos of his laptop and talked about using it many times on his social media In December 2024, Musk shared a photo of his laptop while testing Starlink's video game streaming during a flight, captioning it, "This is a pic of my laptop." Since August 2024, Musk has streamed video games over 10 times, showing what looks like a computer screen, according to the report by Wired. In May 2025, he responded to a fan's inquiry about his gaming setup, mentioning that he still uses his "ancient PC laptop" adorned with a Dogecoin sticker.He even posted a photo of it, a black AERO-brand laptop, popular among gamers. Musk said the laptop is about three years old, and the Doge sticker was given to him by someone in Germany. Earlier, in February 2024, Musk posted that he had bought a new PC laptop but couldn't use it because it required a Microsoft account, which he didn't want to make. He even replied to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, asking to let people skip making a Microsoft account when setting up a PC, as stated by Wired. In July 2021, Musk mentioned using a PC desktop equipped with the latest graphics card, along with a Mac and a Gigabyte laptop. In November 2022, he shared a photo of a Mastodon screen from a computer but later removed the post. Then, in March 2025, a podcast video revealed what appeared to be a gaming PC in Musk's Washington, DC office. According to several employees at X, although Musk primarily relies on his phone, he is occasionally seen using a laptop. Musk's lawyers didn't reply to WIRED's questions. OpenAI also didn't comment but pointed to their official court documents, according to the report by Wired. Q1. Why did Elon Musk's lawyers say he doesn't use a computer? Musk's lawyers claimed in a June 2025 court filing that he does not use a computer, only his mobile phone, as part of the legal case against OpenAI. Q2. Has Elon Musk ever posted about using a laptop or PC? Yes, Musk has posted multiple times on social media showing pictures of his laptop and talking about using a PC for gaming and work since at least 2021.