Jury Rules Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI Was Filed Too Late Elon Musk’s courtroom bid to remake OpenAI has ended, for now, not on a sweeping judgment about AI ethics but on a simple question of timing.

In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit dedicated to developing artificial intelligence “for the benefit of humanity,” donating about $38 million on the understanding it would remain noncommercial. Over the next several years, OpenAI created a capped-profit arm and deepened its partnership with Microsoft, including a major investment in 2019 and a far larger deal announced in 2023.

Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018 amid power struggles and disputes over control, later alleging that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman had “stolen a charity” by diverting nonprofit assets into the for‑profit structure and enriching themselves. In February 2024, he sued Altman, Brockman, OpenAI and Microsoft in federal court in Oakland, seeking to unwind an $852 billion restructuring, remove Altman and Brockman, and claw back up to $134 billion for the nonprofit foundation.

After a three‑week trial packed with testimony about internal fights, merger talks with Anthropic, and Musk’s own attempts to gain control of OpenAI, a nine‑person advisory jury deliberated for about two hours on May 18, 2026. Jurors unanimously found Musk’s claims were filed too late under the statute of limitations; Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately accepted the verdict, which barred his breach‑of‑charitable‑trust and unjust‑enrichment claims and cleared Microsoft as well.

OpenAI’s lawyers hailed the case as a “hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor,” now “kicked … to the side.” Industry analysts said the ruling removes a “multi‑billion‑dollar threat” and lets OpenAI refocus on an expected IPO and its rivalry with Anthropic.

Musk has vowed to appeal, dismissing the loss as a “calendar technicality” and insisting “there is no question … that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity.” His lawyer called the verdict “one word: Appeal … This war is not over,” arguing nonprofits shouldn’t be allowed to raise “millions of dollars in a publicly subsidized charity and then convert it.”

While OpenAI and its partners emerged legally victorious, some observers contend “the entire AI industry lost,” seeing the trial as confirmation that money and power, not “love of humanity,” are driving the race to control advanced AI.

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