A jury has rejected Elon Musk’s $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, ending a closely watched legal battle over the company’s shift from its original nonprofit structure.
Elon Musk accused OpenAI and Altman of abandoning the organization’s founding mission by prioritizing commercial interests and partnerships, particularly after the company’s multi-billion-dollar relationship with Microsoft. He argued that OpenAI was originally established as an open and nonprofit AI research organization focused on benefiting humanity.
The jury ultimately sided with OpenAI, rejecting Musk’s claims after the trial examined internal communications, company restructuring, and OpenAI’s business partnerships.
The nine-member jury in the U.S. District Court in Oakland deliberated for less than two hours before ruling that Musk failed to file the lawsuit within the legal time limit. Following the decision, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed the case.
OpenAI maintained that its capped-profit structure was necessary to fund large-scale AI development, infrastructure, and research costs. The company argued that building advanced AI systems required significantly more capital than a traditional nonprofit model could realistically sustain.
The case also brought renewed attention to the deteriorated relationship between Musk and OpenAI leadership. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but later left the organization. Since then, he has repeatedly criticized the company’s direction and its close ties with Microsoft.
During the trial, OpenAI argued that Musk himself previously supported ideas involving commercial structures and large-scale funding while he was still involved with the organization.
The verdict marks a major legal win for OpenAI as competition across the AI industry continues accelerating. The company remains one of the central players in the current AI race following the growth of ChatGPT and its broader partnership ecosystem.