Musk Loses OpenAI Trial

CNBC reported Monday that a jury in Oakland, California, ruled against Elon Musk in the OpenAI trial, rejecting every claim he brought against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and the AI company he once helped found. Deliberations lasted fewer than two hours.

Verdict Lands Fast and Hard

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers adopted the advisory jury’s finding that neither Altman nor OpenAI bore liability. The judge dismissed claims of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment, declaring she was ready to throw them out immediately. The core legal problem for Musk was timing. The jury determined he had three years to bring suit and simply did not act within that window.

Musk’s attorney Steven Molo preserved his client’s right to appeal, though the judge signalled deep scepticism. She noted that the evidence strongly supported the jury’s conclusion. Outside the courthouse, another Musk lawyer, Marc Toberoff, told CNBC the dispute was fundamentally about protecting charitable organisations from exploitation.

What Musk Was Seeking

The suit, filed in 2024, alleged that Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman abandoned the company’s founding nonprofit mission to pursue personal profit. Musk said he donated roughly $38 million to OpenAI on the understanding it would develop AI for humanity’s broad benefit. His legal team sought forfeiture of up to $134 billion in alleged ill-gotten gains. They also wanted Altman and Brockman removed from leadership and OpenAI’s 2025 restructuring unwound entirely.

Microsoft, which began investing in OpenAI as early as 2019, was also named as a defendant. The court dismissed that claim alongside the others.

Background: From Co-Founders to Courtroom Rivals

Musk was among OpenAI’s original backers when it launched in 2015. He departed the board three years later. Relations between Musk and Altman deteriorated sharply after OpenAI began building a commercial operation and accepting large-scale outside investment. The rivalry intensified after Musk launched his own AI venture, xAI, positioning it as a direct competitor. OpenAI’s lead attorney William Savitt argued publicly that Musk delayed filing deliberately, treating the legal threat as a competitive weapon rather than a sincere charitable concern.

OpenAI and Microsoft Celebrate

OpenAI and Microsoft legal teams embraced as they left the courtroom. A Microsoft spokesperson said the timeline of events had always been clear and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its OpenAI partnership. The verdict arrives just days before Musk’s SpaceX is expected to publicly file its IPO prospectus, adding an unusual postscript to a bruising three-week proceeding.

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