A California jury has ruled against Elon Musk in his legal battle with OpenAI, finding that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman were not liable for allegedly enriching themselves by shifting the company from its original nonprofit structure toward a for-profit model.
The decision was based on the fact that Musk filed the lawsuit outside the allowed legal timeframe. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California accepted the jury’s verdict, confirming Musk’s loss in the case.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, had argued that he donated money to the organization in its early days with the understanding that it would remain a nonprofit. His lawsuit targeted Altman, Brockman, OpenAI, and Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s largest supporters.
During the three-week trial, Musk’s legal team tried to challenge Altman’s credibility, portraying him as dishonest and unreliable. They also brought attention to Altman’s brief removal from OpenAI’s board in 2023, when the board said he had not been consistently transparent with its members. Altman was reinstated only days later.
Musk’s lawyers argued that Altman’s trustworthiness was central to the case. They also criticized Brockman’s testimony, describing his answers as unclear and indirect.
OpenAI’s legal team responded by arguing that Musk’s claims were filed too late. They also pointed to testimony suggesting that Musk had not clearly made his donations conditional on OpenAI remaining a nonprofit.
The verdict comes as OpenAI continues to move toward a possible public listing. The company is reportedly racing to go public before rival Anthropic, with 2026 expected to be a major year for artificial intelligence IPOs.
