That was fast. After less than two hours of deliberation, a jury in Oakland ruled against Elon Musk. His lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI — which sought up to $180 billion in allegedly ill-gotten gains — has failed. Not on substance, but on timing.
What it was about
Musk sued OpenAI in 2024. His claim: Altman and OpenAI broke their promise to run the company as a nonprofit. He wanted Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman removed from leadership, and the 2025 restructuring into a for-profit entity unwound.
Why he lost
The jury found that Musk’s claims fell outside a three-year statute of limitations. The court never addressed whether OpenAI actually broke its nonprofit promise. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately adopted the advisory jury’s verdict.
Musk’s response
Musk called the verdict a ‘calendar technicality’ on X and announced he would appeal. Classic Musk — never backs down, even when the legal ground is thin.
What this means
For OpenAI, it’s immediate relief. The IPO process can proceed without this lawsuit hanging overhead. For the broader debate about AI governance, little has changed: the question of whether it’s acceptable to convert an AI nonprofit into a $300 billion company simply wasn’t answered by the court.
And for Musk? He’ll continue his AI war on other fronts. xAI is growing, Grok is being aggressively positioned, and the next court date is probably just a matter of time.
Sources: TechCrunch, CNBC