Overview
- A federal advisory jury concluded the case was time‑barred and the judge dismissed Elon Musk’s suit on May 18, and Musk has said he will appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
- The trial had been narrowed to claims of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment so jurors never decided whether OpenAI’s leaders improperly converted nonprofit assets into a for‑profit enterprise.
- OpenAI defended its October 2025 restructuring as necessary to raise capital for costly AI work and argued Musk’s donations carried no restrictions, a point the court did not resolve on the merits.
- Musk has publicly accused Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of “stealing a charity” and originally sought large disgorgement and leadership removal, but the judge limited the remedies considered at trial.
- The verdict clears short‑term legal hurdles for OpenAI’s commercial path but leaves open wider questions about governance, Microsoft’s ties, donor expectations, and competitive pressure from rivals such as Anthropic and Musk’s xAI/SpaceX moves.