US jury rules against Musk in OpenAI feud, finding lawsuit came too late

A ⁠US jury on Monday ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding the artificial intelligence company not liable to the world’s richest person for having allegedly strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity.

In a unanimous verdict, the jury in Oakland, California, federal court said Musk brought his case too late. The jury deliberated less than two hours. The three-week trial had widely been seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence generally, both in how it should be used and who should benefit from it.

The verdict simplifies the path ‌for OpenAI to proceed with a possible initial public offering that could value the business at US$1 trillion. But OpenAI’s public face, Chief Executive Sam Altman, must also address the challenges to his reputation from some extremely personal testimony during the trial, including multiple witnesses describing him as a liar.

Musk said he would appeal, repeating his claim that Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman viewed OpenAI as a means to great wealth.

“Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!” Musk posted on X. “Creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America.”

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who oversaw the trial, said in court after the verdict that Musk may face an uphill battle in an appeal, because whether the statute of limitations ran out before he sued was a factual issue.