US Jury Rules Against Elon Musk in OpenAI Lawsuit

A US jury on Monday ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding the artificial intelligence company not liable to the world’s richest person for having allegedly strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity. In a unanimous verdict, the jury in Oakland, California, federal court said Musk had brought his case too late, deliberating for less than two hours. 

The trial had widely been seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence generally, both in how it should be used and who should benefit from it. The decision simplifies the path for OpenAI to proceed with a possible initial public offering that could value the business at $1 trillion.

In his 2024 lawsuit, Musk accused OpenAI, its Chief Executive Sam Altman and its President Greg Brockman of manipulating him into giving $38 million, then going behind his back by attaching a for-profit business to its original nonprofit and accepting tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors. Musk called the OpenAI defendants’ conduct stealing from a charity. 

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Following the verdict, Musk’s lawyers said in court that he reserved the right to appeal, and Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff told reporters that Musk would have a strong basis for an appeal, saying this one is not over. The verdict means OpenAI can move forward with its corporate structure and potential public offering without the legal challenge from one of its earliest backers. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and later left, has been a vocal critic of the company’s shift toward a for-profit model.