A federal jury rejected Elon Musk’s claims against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman after less than two hours of deliberation, siding with the defense in a dispute over OpenAI’s nonprofit origins and later restructuring.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers adopted the advisory jury’s finding that Altman and OpenAI were not liable. She also ruled that claims of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment were dismissed as untimely.
Filed in 2024, the lawsuit alleged Altman and OpenAI abandoned their founding nonprofit mission after Musk co-founded the company in 2015 and left its board in 2018. Microsoft, an early investor beginning in 2019, was also named, with Musk alleging it aided and abetted a breach of charitable trust. Those claims were also dismissed.
Musk had sought as much as $134 billion in ill-gotten gains, removal of Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, and reversal of OpenAI’s 2025 restructuring. He argued any funds should go to “the OpenAI charity.”
