Musk Loses Court Battle Over OpenAI Mission Claim as Jury Cites Late Filing

Mintesinot Niggusie

A U.S. jury has ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding the company not liable for allegations that it abandoned its original non-profit mission to develop artificial intelligence for public benefit.

The unanimous verdict was delivered on Monday in federal court in Oakland, California, with jurors concluding that Musk filed the case too late. The panel reached its decision after less than two hours of deliberation.

The case stems from a 2024 lawsuit in which Musk accused OpenAI executives, including Chief Executive Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, of misleading him into contributing about 38 million US dollars and later shifting the organisation towards a for-profit model backed by major investors, including Microsoft.

OpenAI argued during the trial that Musk delayed bringing the claim and maintained that the company operated within its founding framework while raising capital to scale artificial intelligence development.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said there was substantial evidence supporting the jury’s finding and noted she had been prepared to dismiss the case during proceedings.

The trial lasted 11 days and included testimony in which both sides accused each other of prioritising financial interests over the public good in artificial intelligence development.

Microsoft, which was named in an aiding-and-abetting claim, welcomed the verdict, saying the facts and timeline supported dismissal of the case as untimely.

In a statement cited by Reuters, Microsoft said it agreed with the court’s conclusion on the timing of the claims.

OpenAI is competing with firms including Anthropic and Musk’s xAI, and is preparing for a potential initial public offering that could value the company at about 1 trillion US dollars.

Testimony during the proceedings also referenced Microsoft’s investment in its partnership with OpenAI, which was said to exceed 100 billion US dollars.