Elon Musk loses OpenAI suit

Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI on May 18 after a federal advisory jury in Oakland found that he waited too long to sue over the company’s shift away from its original nonprofit structure. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California accepted the jury’s finding and dismissed Musk’s claims, according to court reporting and the case docket. The verdict ended a closely watched trial that had put Musk, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman, Microsoft and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman on the stand or in the case. Musk said on X that he would appeal. ### Why did the jury throw the case out? A nine-member advisory jury found that Musk’s claims were barred by the statute of limitations, concluding that he missed California’s three-year window to file suit. CBS News reported that the jury was unanimous and that OpenAI had argued Musk could not seek relief for conduct before August 2021. Judge Gonzalez Rogers then adopted the advisory verdict as her own ruling. (nytimes.com) An April 17 pretrial order had signaled that result was possible. In that order, Gonzalez Rogers wrote that if the jury found Musk failed to file within the statute of limitations, the court was “highly likely” to accept that finding and direct a verdict for the defendants. ### What was Musk alleging against OpenAI and Altman? (cbsnews.com) Musk sued in 2024, arguing that OpenAI abandoned the nonprofit mission he said its founders agreed to when the organization was created in 2015. ABC News reported before trial that Musk said OpenAI later breached that understanding by moving toward a profit-seeking structure and giving Microsoft access to advanced models through an exclusive licensing arrangement. (cases.justia.com) The claims that reached trial were narrower than Musk’s broader public attacks. ABC reported that Musk was set to press unjust enrichment and breach of charitable trust claims against OpenAI, while Microsoft was also named as a defendant in the case. Court records show the federal case was filed on Aug. 5, 2024, in the Northern District of California as Musk v. Altman, case number 4:24-cv-04722. (abcnews.com) ### How much was at stake in the trial? Musk was seeking $150 billion in damages, according to ABC News and CBS News. CBS also reported that Musk wanted Altman removed from company leadership and that a win for Musk could have forced changes to OpenAI’s business structure. OpenAI’s lawyers cast the case as an attack on a rival. After the verdict, OpenAI attorney William Savitt said outside court that the lawsuit was “a hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor,” according to CBS. (abcnews.com) Musk responded on X that the court had ruled on “a calendar technicality” rather than the merits and said Altman and Brockman had enriched themselves. ### Who testified and where was the case heard? The trial opened in Oakland, California, on April 28, according to ABC News. Judge Gonzalez Rogers oversaw proceedings with nine jurors and no alternates, and the witness list included Musk, Altman and Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella. The court had split the case into two phases. Gonzalez Rogers’ pretrial order said the liability phase would go first before the advisory jury, and a remedies phase would be heard by the court only if needed. (cbsnews.com) That structure became irrelevant once the jury found the claims untimely. ### What happens next in the case? Musk said on May 18 that he planned to appeal the ruling. (abcnews.com) Court records show the docket was updated on May 19, one day after the verdict, and the case remains listed in the Northern District of California under Gonzalez Rogers. A pretrial order had also required the parties to submit findings of fact and conclusions of law on liability by May 21, 2026. (cbsnews.com) (cases.justia.com)