Elon Musk lost his high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI after a U.S. jury ruled in favour of the artificial intelligence startup, rejecting claims that the company had strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity.
According to a Reuters report, the unanimous verdict was delivered by a federal jury in Oakland, California, which concluded that Musk had brought the lawsuit too late. The jury reportedly deliberated for less than two hours before reaching its decision.
The lawsuit, filed by Musk in 2024, accused OpenAI, Chief Executive Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman of misleading him into contributing $38 million to the organisation before allegedly shifting toward a profit-driven structure backed by billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors.
Musk had described the company's conduct as “stealing a charity” and argued that OpenAI prioritised enriching investors and insiders over developing safe artificial intelligence for humanity's benefit.
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Following the verdict, Musk's lawyer Steven Molo said the billionaire reserved the right to appeal. However, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers indicated that overturning the ruling could prove difficult.
“There's a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury's finding, which is why I was prepared to dismiss on the spot,” the judge said, according to Reuters.
OpenAI countered during the trial that it was Musk, not the company, who was motivated by commercial interests and that he had waited too long to claim the startup violated its founding agreement.
“Mr. Musk may have the Midas touch in some areas, but not in AI,” OpenAI lawyer William Savitt said during closing arguments.
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The case was closely watched across the technology industry as it raised broader questions around the governance, safety and commercialisation of artificial intelligence. Over 11 days of testimony, lawyers for both sides repeatedly attacked the credibility and motives of Musk and Altman.
Reuters reported that OpenAI is currently preparing for a potential initial public offering that could value the company at nearly $1 trillion. The startup competes with rivals including Anthropic and xAI, Musk's AI venture that is now part of SpaceX.
Microsoft has invested more than $100 billion into its partnership with OpenAI, a company executive testified during the trial.
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