Elon Musk Loses Landmark Lawsuit to OpenAI

Elon Musk has suffered what legal experts are calling a decisive defeat in his high-stakes lawsuit against OpenAI, after a federal jury and judge ruled that he filed his claims far too late to be considered valid. The case, which targeted CEO Sam Altman, co-founder Greg Brockman, and the AI giant itself, was dismissed on statute of limitations grounds.

The jury’s verdict was technically a nonbinding recommendation to U. S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, but she quickly adopted it as her own, making the ruling final. Musk’s lead trial lawyer, Steven Molo, immediately signaled plans to challenge the outcome, telling the court, “Our intention is to appeal.”

Another Musk attorney, Marc Toberoff, offered a terse “Appeal” as he left the courtroom. Later, he drew a historical parallel, comparing the loss to early American Revolutionary War setbacks. “These were major losses for Americans, but who won the war?” Toberoff said. “And this one is not over.”

Inside the courtroom, OpenAI’s legal team embraced after the verdict was read. Lead litigator William Savitt told reporters that the “overwhelming” evidence presented at trial allowed the jury to reach a swift conclusion. “The evidence that Mr. Musk’s lawsuit was an after-the-fact contrivance by a competitor was overwhelming,” Savitt said.

Throughout the proceedings, Judge Gonzalez Rogers had questioned what she saw as Musk’s shifting motivations for targeting OpenAI. But on Monday, she defended the value of the three-week public trial. “I thought it was an important issue to be tried … for us to have a trial to bring clarity,” she told both sides. “There’s a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury’s findings, which is why I was prepared to accept the jury’s findings and dismiss on the spot.”

The nine-member jury delivered a unanimous verdict after deliberating for less than two hours in an Oakland, California, courtroom. They concluded that the statute of limitations had expired well before Musk filed his lawsuit in 2024. Musk had hoped to convince the jury that Altman and Brockman, backed by Microsoft’s financial firepower, had transformed OpenAI far beyond the nonprofit vision the trio and others had laid out nearly 11 years ago.

Because the case was dismissed on procedural grounds, the jury never ruled on Musk’s three core claims: breach of charitable trust, unjust enrichment, and, against Microsoft, aiding and abetting. This technical loss could give Musk an opening to continue arguing in the court of public opinion that the jury never addressed his central accusation: that a charity was stolen.

Savitt rejected that framing. “It’s not a technical decision, it’s a substantive one,” he said. “It says you brought your claims too late, and you did it because you were sitting on them to use them as a weapon of a competitor who can’t compete in the marketplace, and so we’re delighted with the outcome.”

Microsoft spokesperson Alex Haurek issued a statement saying the “facts and the timeline in this case have long been clear” and that the company remains “committed to our work with OpenAI to advance and scale AI.”

Musk, Altman, and Brockman were not present when the verdict was read. Musk, under court order to refrain from posting on social media during the trial, has said little publicly in recent weeks.

Despite the legal loss for Musk, the trial appears to have taken a toll on OpenAI’s public image. New details emerged about Brockman’s personal wealth and Altman’s alleged history of dishonesty. Both executives were pulled away from their daily responsibilities for tens, if not hundreds, of hours to give depositions, prepare testimony, appear on the witness stand, and attend court proceedings.