Elon Musk Loses Historic Lawsuit

On May 18, in a unanimous verdict at a federal court in Oakland, California, a nine-person jury declared that billionaire Elon Musk filed his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman too late. According to Reuters, jury deliberations were swift, concluding in less than two hours.

Elon Musk loses lawsuit against Sam Altman

Specifically, the entire advisory jury found that Musk had exceeded the statute of limitations by filing the suit in 2024, despite being aware of the issues as early as 2021. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed and dismissed the case.

Following the verdict, Elon Musk’s attorneys announced in court that they reserve the right to appeal. Speaking to reporters after the ruling, attorney Marc Toberoff stated that there are strong grounds for an appeal.

"This case is not over. The ruling, based on the statute of limitations, involves factual elements but also requires crucial legal considerations," Toberoff said.

Hours after the verdict, Elon Musk personally confirmed his intent to appeal, stating he will file a petition with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals—the largest federal appellate court in the American judicial system.

"The judge and jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, but only on a technicality regarding the timeline. No one following the case in detail can doubt that Altman and Brockman actually enriched themselves by stealing money from a charity. The only remaining question is when they did it," the billionaire wrote on X.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a non-profit organization, contributing at least $44 million during its early years. He departed the company in 2018 following a power struggle. In 2019, OpenAI established a for-profit subsidiary in order to raise capital.

The South African-born billionaire alleged that this transition betrayed the organization’s founding mission, seeking a court order to revert OpenAI to a non-profit model. He demanded $130 billion in damages, the removal of Altman and Brockman from the board of directors, and the restitution of any profits gained.

Microsoft was also named in the suit on allegations of aiding and abetting the breaches. Counsel for the software giant argued the company neither could nor did assist in any breach of fiduciary duty. They further highlighted that Musk himself posted on X in September 2020 stating, "OpenAI is essentially captured by Microsoft," demonstrating his awareness of the relationship years prior to initiating litigation.

This marks the most high-profile public litigation in the history of the AI industry, bringing two of the sector's most influential figures face-to-face before a jury.

According to courtroom observers, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, CEO and President of OpenAI respectively, were both present in the gallery, while the Tesla CEO was seated at the counsel table in the center of the room.