Musk Loses $150B Lawsuit Against OpenAI as Jury Rules Claims Filed Too Late
A California jury rejected Elon Musk's $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and co-founder Greg Brockman, ruling that Musk waited too long to bring his claims. The jury found the defendants not liable on all counts, and also dismissed Musk's separate claim that Microsoft helped shift OpenAI away from its nonprofit mission. The trial, which began in April, centered on Musk's 2024 allegations that OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit charter by transitioning to a for-profit structure and deepening ties with Microsoft. The court applied strict filing deadlines: three years for breach of nonprofit duties and two years for improper profit claims. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018. During testimony, Musk argued he supported the nonprofit model for public good, while OpenAI's lawyers contended the lawsuit was motivated by competition from Musk's AI startup xAI, launched in 2023. Musk acknowledged xAI used OpenAI models to train Grok via distillation. Witnesses included Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, and Shivon Zilis. This verdict does not end all legal conflicts between Musk and OpenAI; ongoing cases include OpenAI's countersuit for bad-faith tactics, xAI's antitrust suit against OpenAI and Apple, and another xAI suit for trade secret theft.
Key facts
- California jury rejects Musk's $150B lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman, and Brockman.
- Jury found claims were filed too late; all defendants not liable.
- Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, left in 2018, later launched xAI.
- OpenAI argued lawsuit was retaliation for competition from Musk's xAI.
- Ongoing legal battles include countersuits and antitrust claims.