Musk loses – A jury in Oakland rejected Elon Musk’s claims against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and OpenAI, ruling the suit was filed after the statute of limitations. The judge said she was prepared to dismiss the case immediately and later confirmed the breach-of-charitable-tru
Elon Musk’s courtroom bid against Sam Altman and OpenAI ended quickly on Monday, after a jury took less than two hours to reject his claims.
The case, heard before U.S.. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland. California. was decided in line with the jury’s advisory determination that Altman and OpenAI were not liable.. In the same ruling. the court agreed that Musk’s allegations involving “breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment” are dismissed as untimely.. Gonzalez Rogers said she was prepared to dismiss Musk’s claims “on the spot.”
The jury concluded Musk filed outside the statute of limitations, finding that he had three years to sue and did not file on time. “There’s a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury’s finding,” Gonzalez Rogers said as she wrapped up the three-week trial.
Musk’s attorney, Steven Molo, reserved Musk’s right to appeal after the verdict.
The dispute dates to Musk’s lawsuit in 2024, where he alleged Altman and OpenAI violated a commitment to keep the artificial intelligence lab as a nonprofit. Musk helped start OpenAI in 2015, but left the board three years later.
A related claim targeted Microsoft, which Musk said aided and abetted the alleged breach of charitable trust. Microsoft, an investor in OpenAI as early as 2019, was named as a defendant. The court dismissed the claim against Microsoft as well.
As the courtroom session ended, OpenAI and Microsoft counsel celebrated with hugs and back slaps while leaving downtown Oakland.
Musk had asked the court for broad remedies. seeking an order that would force OpenAI and Microsoft to disgorge as much as $134 billion described as “ill-gotten gains.” He also sought removal of Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman from leadership and asked the court to unwind OpenAI’s 2025 restructuring that. in his view. enabled growth of the company’s for-profit arm.. Musk said any money should be returned to “the OpenAI charity” rather than to him personally.
Testimony turned on Musk’s account of his own funding and the lab’s direction.. At the center was Musk’s claim that OpenAI executives “stole a charity. ” after Altman and Brockman abandoned OpenAI’s founding charitable mission while pursuing personal profit.. Musk testified he gave roughly $38 million to OpenAI on the understanding it would develop AI “for the benefit of humanity. ” not enrich any one person.
OpenAI’s lawyers countered that Musk’s donations were not restricted and argued restructuring was required to compete in a costly race against Google DeepMind.. They also argued Musk had previously proposed a for-profit structure while insisting he retain control. including pushing the company at one point to fold into Tesla.
During the trial, jurors heard from Altman, Brockman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Musk himself. The jury’s decision came as a backdrop of escalating competition: in 2023, Musk launched xAI, now part of SpaceX.
The timing of the verdict added friction to both sides’ road maps.. The outcome landed as Altman and Musk move their respective companies toward public markets. in what are expected to be record offerings.. In late March, OpenAI raised $122 billion at a valuation of over $850 billion.. The ChatGPT maker is racing to advance its models and continue building consumer services while also trying to keep pace with Anthropic in the enterprise AI market.. Musk. meanwhile. is expected to begin meeting with investors very soon ahead of an IPO for SpaceX. which was valued at $1.25 trillion after merging with xAI in February.. SpaceX confidentially filed for an IPO in April, and could make its prospectus public this week.
The relationship between the ruling and what Musk asked the court for was direct: his bid to recover up to $134 billion and force leadership changes depended on a case that the jury and judge ultimately treated as barred by timing. with the court dismissing “breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment” as untimely under a three-year window.
The verdict closes a bitter chapter between two former close friends turned rivals, with Musk’s team now looking toward appeal while OpenAI and Microsoft leave the courtroom with a decision that leaves their leadership and restructuring intact for now.
Elon Musk Sam Altman OpenAI Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers statute of limitations charitable trust unjust enrichment Microsoft Greg Brockman SpaceX IPO xAI