Elon Musk Loses Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Sam Altman
A California federal jury has unanimously ruled against Elon Musk in his blockbuster lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman. Following a three-week trial in Oakland, the jury concluded on Monday, May 18th, 2026, that the billionaire waited too long to file his claims, and that they had expired under the statute of limitations.
The jurors spent just under two hours deliberating after listening to 11 days of arguments and high-profile testimony from tech titans, including Musk, Altman, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Because the jury found that the time limits had lapsed for Musk's claims of unjust enrichment and breach of charitable trust, they were not required to pass judgment on the actual merits of the case.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI alongside Altman and Greg Brockman in 2015, filed the lawsuit in 2024. He accused the leadership of pulling a bait-and-switch by leveraging his early $38 million donation to build ChatGPT, only to transition the organization from its original altruistic, non-profit roots into a heavily commercialized business model backed by billions from Microsoft. On the opening day of the trial, Musk took the stand to summarize his position:
"It's actually very simple. It's not OK to steal a charity... If it's okay to loot a charity, the entire foundation of charitable giving will be destroyed."
OpenAI aggressively pushed back against Musk’s stance, presenting a different version of the company's origin story. Altman testified that Musk not only championed the pivot toward a for-profit structure but actively fought for long-term unilateral control. Altman recalled a "hair-raising moment" when co-founders questioned what would happen to that control upon Musk's death:
"He said something like, 'maybe it should pass to my children.'"
Musk ultimately cut ties with the board in 2018 after being denied that control. In the closing arguments, OpenAI's legal team weaponized the timeline, asserting that Musk was simply trying to sabotage a fierce market rival while building his own competing venture, xAI.
The trial exposed deep-seated animosity, with both legal teams launching heavy attacks on the billionaires' character. Musk's attorney, Steven Molo, emphasized that several witnesses had openly branded Altman a liar, telling the jury, "Sam Altman’s credibility is directly at issue. If you don’t believe him, they cannot win."
Conversely, OpenAI’s attorney William Savitt fired back during his closing remarks, stating:
"Mr Musk may have the Midas touch in some areas, but not in AI."
Savitt expressed satisfaction with the verdict and affirmed that OpenAI would remain dedicated to creating "safe AI for the benefit of all humanity." Outside the courthouse, OpenAI spokesman Sam Singer celebrated the outcome as a "tremendous victory" and an "effort by Mr Musk to slow down a competitor."
Musk quickly took to X to vent his frustration. He criticised the ruling as a "calendar technicality" and slammed the decision for establishing a "terrible precedent." In a series of posts, he wrote:
"Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!"
He later added:
"Creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America."
Musk's legal team has vowed to appeal the decision. However, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has indicated that an appeal would face a steep uphill battle, saying that the timing issue was a factual determination well within the jury's purview.
"There’s a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury’s finding, which is why I was prepared to dismiss on the spot," Judge Gonzalez Rogers said after the verdict.
Legal experts agree that overturning a fact-based jury decision is incredibly rare, meaning that OpenAI can keep its focus on its upcoming initial public offering, now valued at an estimated $852 billion.
Image: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
