OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal court has thrown out legal claims brought by Elon Musk against OpenAI and its leadership team, with a jury determining that the billionaire entrepreneur missed the legal deadline to pursue his case.
The Tesla CEO, who helped establish OpenAI in 2015, had alleged that the artificial intelligence company’s executives abandoned their original commitment to operate as a nonprofit organization focused on benefiting humanity. Musk contributed $38 million during the company’s early years before accusing CEO Sam Altman and his senior leadership of secretly transitioning to a profit-driven business model.
A nine-member jury concluded that Musk’s legal challenge came too late, violating statute of limitations requirements. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers endorsed the jury’s advisory decision on Monday, officially rejecting Musk’s lawsuit. The jury reached their conclusion after just two hours of deliberation.
The legal proceedings, which started April 27 in Oakland, California, revealed details about the contentious split between these prominent technology figures and OpenAI’s early development. The company now carries an $852 billion valuation and is preparing for what could become one of the largest stock market debuts ever.
Altman and OpenAI maintained that no permanent commitment existed to maintain nonprofit status indefinitely. They contended that Musk understood this arrangement and pursued litigation after failing to gain exclusive control over the rapidly expanding AI enterprise.
The lawsuit sought financial compensation for OpenAI’s charitable division and demanded Altman’s removal from the company’s board. Musk’s withdrawal of financial support created a significant rift between the former collaborators. He claimed his actions were justified by deceptive practices that OpenAI’s board recognized when they dismissed Altman as CEO in 2023, though he regained his position within days.
The three-week proceedings featured testimony from Musk, Altman, his senior associate Greg Brockman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and numerous other technology industry figures. During his testimony spanning three days, Musk told jurors: “I think they’re going to try to make this lawsuit … very complicated, but it’s actually very simple. Which is that it’s not OK to steal a charity.”
Musk’s legal filing alleged “breach of charitable trust” and claimed that Altman and Brockman improperly benefited financially as ChatGPT’s creator gained tremendous value. Trial testimony revealed that Brockman’s ownership interest in OpenAI is valued at approximately $30 billion.
OpenAI dismissed Musk’s accusations as baseless resentment designed to harm its expansion while promoting Musk’s competing venture xAI, which he established in 2023. During questioning by OpenAI attorney William Savitt, Musk displayed defensive behavior.
“Your questions are not simple,” Musk stated during one exchange. “They are designed to trick me essentially.”
The jury also heard from former OpenAI board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley, who discussed their decision to terminate Altman in 2023. Both women were subsequently removed from the board when Altman resumed his leadership role.
Both Altman and Musk had sought the CEO position during OpenAI’s formative period. Altman testified about his concerns regarding Musk’s efforts to increase his influence over OpenAI, which aimed to responsibly develop artificial general intelligence surpassing human capabilities.
“Part of the reason we started OpenAI is we didn’t think AGI could be under the control of any one person, no matter how good their intents are,” Altman explained.
Concluding his testimony, Altman expressed his previous admiration for Musk before their relationship deteriorated.
“I felt like he had abandoned us, not come through on his promises, put the company in a very difficult place, jeopardized the mission, didn’t really care about the things I thought he cared about,” Altman said. “It’s been an extremely painful thing for me … to have someone that I respected so much not acknowledge that and continue to publicly attack us.”
