Elon Musk is reportedly facing a substantial loss as the jury reaches a verdict in the $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman. The unanimous decision dismissed his suit, accusing OpenAI of abandoning the organization’s mission as a charitable entity.
Elon Musk’s $150 billion OpenAI lawsuit ended before it really began
Elon Musk’s lawsuit alleging that OpenAI breached its charitable charter was unanimously dismissed by a federal jury. An initial backer of OpenAI, Elon Musk, was pursuing $150 billion in damages. He called for Sam Altman’s removal from the board and for OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit.
A nine-member federal jury in Oakland, California, ruled unanimously on Monday, May 18, that the statute of limitations barred Musk’s “breach of charitable trust” allegation against OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman. The jury reached the same conclusion on the tech mogul’s claim that Microsoft, a major OpenAI investor, had “aided and abetted” the alleged breach, per Variety.
Responding to the verdict, Elon Musk said that he will file an appeal with the Ninth Circuit. He argued that endorsing this outcome would undermine charitable giving nationwide.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk maintained that the judge and jury did not rule on the merits of the case. He asserted that the dismissal of the suit happened on statute of limitations grounds. Musk further claimed that anyone who followed the case closely would agree that Altman and Brockman improperly profited from a charity. According to the Tesla CEO, the only issue left was when it happened.
However, after a three-week trial, jurors concluded that Musk had been aware of OpenAI’s for-profit shift since 2021. After the suit was filed in 2024, they ruled that his claims were barred by the three-year statute of limitations.
In court, Elon Musk’s lead attorney, Steven Molo, told U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers that Musk reserved his right to appeal. According to CNBC, Gonzalez Rogers said she had to prepare to deny the appeal immediately.
Microsoft backed the jury’s ruling that the claims were untimely and reaffirmed its global AI work with OpenAI.
Originally reported by Sibanee Gogoi on Mandatory.
