Featured Image Credit: Benjamin Fanjoy / Stringer / Getty
The jury has finally made its decision in the landmark case between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, bringing a decade-long feud to a close with potentially significant implications for the future of the tech and AI industries.
While Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI – and by extension, Sam Altman – began all the way back in August 2024, it was just a few weeks ago that the trial officially began with many of the tech world's darkest secrets exposed throughout the process.
Both sides expressed their arguments as the lengthy rivalry between two of the industry's leading figures was laid bare, and the jury has finally come to a decision — with one side emerging as the unanimous victor.
Musk's accusations stem from when he was originally a co-founding member of the OpenAI board, well before the non-profit company achieved monumental success following the release of ChatGPT.
Leaving the board in February 2018 following a power struggle and a potential conflict of interest with developments at Tesla, Musk now claims that the company has strayed from its original mission statement, violating the terms he claims he initially agreed to.
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It all revolves around OpenAI's desire to transition from non-profit status to for-profit, which would put the company on the stock market and initiate further growth — yet Musk refutes this move – perhaps motivated by his own status in the AI industry's ongoing power struggle – invoking his past contributions to the company.
He also claims that OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft represents a potential monopoly and breaches antitrust laws, pulling the tech giant into the already chaotic lawsuit.
Key to the trial's ramifications were Musk's demands upon victory, as he not only sought over $134 billion in damages that would be given to the OpenAI charity, but also the removal of both Sam Altman and Greg Brockman – the company's president – from their roles.
Following just two hours of deliberations, the jury swiftly came to the decision that Elon Musk had waited too long to file the lawsuit, dismissing all of his claims through the argument that they had expired.
This was something that many had speculated throughout the process of the trial, as while Musk continues to assert that his claims are valid, the fact that they have been brought up nearly a decade after his departure appears to have significantly weakened his argument.
Microsoft has responded by reaffirming its support for OpenAI and the continuation of its partnership, with a spokesperson for the company noting that "the facts and the timeline in this case have been long clear," as reported by the BBC.
Surprising nobody, Musk was quick to express his dissatisfaction on social media following the result, taking to X to make accusations about the judge and jury, alongside calling for an appeal.
In a now-deleted tweet, Musk called the judge a "terrible activist" that was using the jury "as a fig leaf," implying that the actions of the court were dishonest towards the true nature of the case.
This was echoed in a post that remains up for the time being, with Musk writing:
"Regarding the OpenAI case, the judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality. There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!"
Musk added that he "will be filing an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, because creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America. OpenAI was founded to benefit all of humanity."
This indicates that the feud is far from over despite the trial landing in Altman's favor, and we could see the two face off once more in the near future if Musk gets his way. At least he doesn't have to worry about the cost of legal fees.
