A California federal court sided with OpenAI after a jury found Elon Musk delayed filing his lawsuit challenging the company’s transition toward a for-profit structure.
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A federal court jury in California has ruled against Tesla chief Elon Musk in his lawsuit targeting OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, dealing a major setback to the billionaire entrepreneur’s legal challenge against the artificial intelligence company.
The case centred around Musk’s claim that OpenAI had drifted away from its original mission after creating a for-profit structure. However, the court agreed with arguments that Musk had waited too long to sue, effectively ending the case on procedural grounds before the broader allegations could proceed further.
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According to CNN, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accepted the advisory verdict returned by the jury and said there was enough evidence to support the conclusion that the statute of limitations had expired.
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“The court now confirms the prior indication that it would accept the jury’s findings as its own. I think that there’s a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury’s finding, which is why I was prepared to dismiss on the spot,” the judge said in court.
Musk had filed the lawsuit in February 2024 against Altman, OpenAI president Greg Brockman and the company itself. He alleged that OpenAI had effectively “stolen a charity” by moving toward a business structure involving a for-profit arm despite being founded as a non-profit artificial intelligence research organisation.
During the proceedings, Musk reflected on his early backing of the company, telling the court: “I was a fool. I gave them free funding to create a startup.”
Musk was among OpenAI’s original co-founders and reportedly contributed around USD 18 million during its early stages.
OpenAI, meanwhile, maintained that its core mission remained unchanged. Its legal team argued that the organisation still operates under a non-profit foundation board and denied claims that the company had abandoned its founding principles.
The company also pointed to Musk’s launch of rival AI venture xAI, arguing that the lawsuit was filed only after he entered the artificial intelligence race as a direct competitor.
According to CNN, the jury concluded that Musk had known about the actions cited in the lawsuit as early as 2021.
Following the verdict, OpenAI attorney William Savitt sharply criticised Musk’s legal action and defended the company’s structure.
“The finding of the jury confirms that what this lawsuit was was a hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor. The fact is that OpenAI is a not-for-profit, mission-driven organisation that has been and will continue to be faithful to that mission,” Savitt said after the ruling.
The verdict marks the latest escalation in the increasingly public clash between Musk and OpenAI leadership, particularly as competition intensifies in the global artificial intelligence industry.
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