{"id":3596,"date":"2026-05-18T21:08:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T21:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/elon-musk-loses-openai-lawsuit-as-jury-backs-sam-altman\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T21:08:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T21:08:32","slug":"elon-musk-loses-openai-lawsuit-as-jury-backs-sam-altman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/elon-musk-loses-openai-lawsuit-as-jury-backs-sam-altman\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk loses OpenAI lawsuit as Jury backs Sam Altman"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A California court delivered a major legal setback to Elon Musk after a jury rejected his claims against Sam Altman and OpenAI, dealing a blow to the billionaire\u2019s effort to challenge the AI company\u2019s transition into a for-profit business.<\/p>\n

After less than two hours of deliberation, nine jurors unanimously concluded that Musk\u2019s claims involving breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment fell outside the applicable statute of limitations. <\/p>\n

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she would accept the jury\u2019s advisory verdict.<\/p>\n

The ruling marks a significant victory for OpenAI and Microsoft, both of which had been named as defendants in the case. <\/p>\n

The lawsuit had threatened to complicate OpenAI\u2019s long-term corporate plans as the company continues preparing for a potential public offering.<\/p>\n

Musk challenged OpenAI\u2019s for-profit transition<\/h2>\n

Musk filed the lawsuit in 2024, arguing that Altman, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, and the company had violated their original commitment to operate OpenAI as a nonprofit organization focused on developing artificial intelligence \u201cfor the benefit of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and donated approximately $38 million to the organization before departing in 2018 following internal disagreements and a power struggle.<\/p>\n

At the center of the case was Musk\u2019s allegation that OpenAI executives had \u201cstole a charity\u201d by transforming the organization into a commercial enterprise designed to generate profits.<\/p>\n

Musk sought damages totaling as much as $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft. <\/p>\n

His legal team also attempted to remove Altman and Brockman from leadership positions and unwind OpenAI\u2019s 2025 restructuring that expanded its for-profit operations.<\/p>\n

Microsoft, which became an early investor in OpenAI beginning in 2019, was accused by Musk of helping facilitate the alleged breach of charitable trust. <\/p>\n

The court dismissed the claims against Microsoft alongside the broader case.<\/p>\n

OpenAI argued restructuring was necessary<\/h2>\n

Lawyers representing OpenAI argued during the three-week trial that Musk\u2019s donations came without restrictions and that restructuring the company was essential to remain competitive in the increasingly expensive artificial intelligence industry.<\/p>\n

OpenAI\u2019s legal team also presented evidence showing Musk himself had previously discussed creating a for-profit structure if he maintained control of the company. <\/p>\n

Attorneys additionally claimed Musk once proposed folding OpenAI into Tesla.<\/p>\n

The defense portrayed the lawsuit as an effort by Musk to weaken a rival after launching his own competing AI company, xAI, in 2023.<\/p>\n

During closing arguments, OpenAI\u2019s lawyers described the case as a \u201cpageant of hypocrisy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the trial, jurors heard testimony from several high-profile technology executives, including Altman, Brockman, Musk, and Satya Nadella.<\/p>\n

Following the verdict, attorneys representing OpenAI and Microsoft reportedly celebrated inside the Oakland courtroom.<\/p>\n

AI rivalry intensifies as IPO ambitions grow<\/h2>\n

The verdict arrives at a critical moment for both OpenAI and Musk\u2019s business empire as competition in the artificial intelligence sector intensifies.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, OpenAI raised capital at a valuation exceeding $850 billion as the company continues expanding its ChatGPT ecosystem and enterprise AI offerings while competing against rivals such as Anthropic and Google DeepMind.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Musk is preparing for a potential IPO involving SpaceX after the company merged with xAI earlier this year. <\/p>\n

SpaceX was reportedly valued at approximately $1.25 trillion following the transaction.<\/p>\n

Although Musk\u2019s legal team reserved the right to appeal, Judge Gonzalez Rogers signaled skepticism toward future challenges, stating there was \u201csubstantial evidence to support the jury\u2019s finding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Elon Musk loses OpenAI lawsuit as Jury backs Sam Altman<\/a> appeared first on Invezz<\/a><\/p>\n

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A California court delivered a major legal setback to Elon Musk after a jury rejected his claims against Sam Altman and OpenAI, dealing a blow to the billionaire\u2019s effort to challenge the AI company\u2019s transition into a for-profit business. After less than two hours of deliberation, nine jurors unanimously concluded that Musk\u2019s claims involving breach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalmarkettrends.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}