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A federal jury in Oakland, California, has rejected Elon Musk’s $134 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, finding chief executive Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman not liable for breach of contract.
Deliberating for less than two hours following a three-week trial, the nine-person jury dismissed Musk’s allegations that the executive team unjustly enriched themselves by shifting the artificial intelligence startup from its original non-profit structure into a commercial business.
Presiding Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately affirmed the advisory verdict and dismissed the claims on the spot, stating that substantial evidence supported the jury’s decision.
Musk lost the case because his claims fell outside the legal statute of limitations. OpenAI’s defence successfully demonstrated that Musk was aware of the company’s plans to establish a for-profit entity as early as 2017.
Because California law enforces a three-year limit on such claims, the jury determined that Musk’s 2024 lawsuit was filed too late, rendering his arguments about a breached charitable trust untimely. Microsoft, which Musk accused of aiding and abetting the restructuring, was also found not liable.
With the legal challenge dismissed, OpenAI is cleared to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) targeted for later this year, which could value the company at approximately $1 trillion. The ruling also secures OpenAI’s commercial partnership with Microsoft without the threat of court-ordered restructuring or financial penalties.
Following the verdict, Musk announced on social media that he will appeal the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
He argued that the ruling relied on a calendar technicality rather than the actual merits of the case, asserting that the decision sets a destructive precedent for charitable giving in America.
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