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Musk loses OpenAI court battle as jury rules he waited too long to sue and tosses every claim he made
Elon Musk bet big on this lawsuit. He lost. A California jury needed just two hours to reach a unanimous verdict. Musk waited too long to file. Every claim he brought against OpenAI and Sam Altman is now essentially dead. The case that dragged on for three weeks was buried in an afternoon.
Musk had accused Altman of betraying OpenAI’s original mission. He donated millions early on. The company was supposed to be a nonprofit developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. Then it shifted toward becoming a for-profit business. Musk claimed he was deceived. The jury did not buy it.
Musk loses OpenAI court battle as Altman’s team calls it a tremendous victory and Musk immediately vows to appeal
The trial pulled back the curtain on years of bad blood. Musk took the stand in a dark suit and said the case was simple. You cannot steal a charity. If looting a charity is allowed, the entire foundation of charitable giving collapses. Altman told a different story. He testified that Musk not only supported OpenAI becoming a for-profit company but also tried to seize control of it. When co-founders asked what would happen if Musk died while in charge, Altman recalled him saying maybe it should pass to his children.
The two started OpenAI together in 2015. Musk left in 2018 after his co-founders refused to hand him control. The animosity has festered ever since. As ChatGPT exploded and Altman became one of the most famous names in tech, Musk grew louder in his criticism. OpenAI published a lengthy blog post refuting his claims point by point.
Microsoft was also dragged into the case. Musk accused the company of aiding and abetting OpenAI’s transition. Those claims were dismissed as a matter of law after the jury’s findings. A Microsoft spokesperson said the facts and timeline in this case have long been clear.
Outside the courthouse, OpenAI spokesman Sam Singer called the verdict a tremendous victory. He said it was nothing but an effort by Musk to slow down a competitor. Lead defense attorney William Savitt said the lawsuit bore no relationship with reality and that the jury decided Musk was lying about the company’s origins.
Musk did not take the loss quietly. Within hours, he posted that the verdict created a free license to loot charities if you can keep the looting quiet for a few years. He called the judge a terrible activist who used the jury as a fig leaf. His legal team has already signaled an appeal. One of his lawyers said flatly that this war is not over.
Law professor Carl Tobias said the jurors made a very fact-based decision. An appeals court would be very unlikely to overturn such a specific finding. The case may drag on. But the bottom line is already written. Musk took his shot. It missed.
