Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 before launching his own AI company, xAI, in 2023, had contributed $38 million to help establish OpenAI as a competitor to Google, which he believed had dominated the AI sector.
He sued the company, accusing its leadership of abandoning the original mission in order to pursue profits. Musk demanded that more than $130 billion be returned to the non-profit arm of OpenAI.
OpenAI defended itself by arguing that its mission had never changed and claimed Musk filed the lawsuit to undermine a company that now competes with his own business interests. The jury sided with OpenAI, noting that Musk had been aware of the company’s operational direction since 2021.
The jury also ruled that Elon Musk waited too long to file the lawsuit, meaning the legal deadline for bringing the case had already expired.
That delay invalidated his legal right to pursue the claims because the law requires complaints to be filed within a specific timeframe after becoming aware of an issue.
During the trial, private messages were also revealed showing that Musk had known for a long time that OpenAI had shifted toward a profit-oriented structure before taking the matter to court.
