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A major courtroom clash in the artificial intelligence industry ended in a setback for Elon Musk after a federal jury rejected his high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman. The ruling, delivered in Oakland, California, centered not on the substance of Musk’s allegations but on a legal technicality — the court determined that the lawsuit had been filed too late under the statute of limitations.
Musk had accused OpenAI of abandoning its original nonprofit mission and transforming into a profit-driven technology powerhouse designed to enrich executives and investors. The billionaire entrepreneur argued that the company betrayed the founding principles under which it was launched in 2015, when he was among its early backers and donors.
The lawsuit sought damages reportedly exceeding $150 billion and also aimed to force structural changes inside OpenAI, including efforts to roll back its for-profit expansion. Musk further claimed that Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman personally benefited from the transition away from the organization’s original public-interest model.
However, after weeks of testimony and legal arguments, the jury unanimously sided with OpenAI. Jurors concluded that Musk had waited too long to bring forward the claims because evidence suggested he was aware of OpenAI’s evolving business direction years before filing the case in 2024. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accepted the jury’s findings and formally dismissed the claims.
Despite the defeat, Musk reacted defiantly on his social media platform X, insisting that the court never ruled on the “core allegations” of misconduct. He described the outcome as a “calendar technicality” and pledged to challenge the verdict before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
OpenAI welcomed the decision, with legal representatives arguing throughout the trial that Musk himself had previously supported the idea of turning OpenAI into a commercially competitive AI company. Court testimony reportedly included evidence that Musk had once sought greater control over OpenAI and even explored integrating it more closely with Tesla.
The closely watched legal battle exposed deep tensions inside the AI industry, particularly over the commercialization of advanced artificial intelligence systems. The case also drew attention because of OpenAI’s explosive rise following the success of ChatGPT and its growing influence in Silicon Valley and global technology markets.
Legal analysts say the ruling removes a major obstacle for OpenAI as the company continues expanding its business operations and reportedly explores long-term public-market ambitions. At the same time, Musk’s vow to appeal ensures that the bitter rivalry between two of AI’s most influential figures is far from over.
