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Jury Rules Against Musk in OpenAI Lawsuit

Jury Rules Against Musk in OpenAI Lawsuit

Jury Rules Against Musk in OpenAI Lawsuit
Above: Lawyers for OpenAI speak outside federal court in Oakland, Calif., on May 18, 2026. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin


The jury's unanimous verdict against Musk is a clear win for OpenAI, Sam Altman and Microsoft. Musk knew about the alleged misconduct as early as 2021 but waited until 2024 to sue — well past the three-year statute of limitations. This clears the path for OpenAI's IPO and leaves Musk further than ever from the company he once helped build.

The jury tossed Musk'sthe case on a timing technicality, not because the underlying claims were wrong. OpenAI took roughly $38 million in founding donations under a nonprofit mission, then restructured into an $850 billion for-profit machine tied to Microsoft. This that'sis a betrayal of the original promise. One procedural loss doesn't erase what happened to the founding mission, and an appeal is already comingin the works.


The Controversies



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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.4.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1