Jury Dismisses Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Sam Altman
- A nine-member federal jury in Oakland, California, dismissed all claims in a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, on May 18,...
- The jury reached a unanimous verdict in less than two hours, determining that Musk had waited too long to initiate the legal action.
- District Court for the Northern District of California tossed the case after agreeing with the jury's conclusion.
A nine-member federal jury in Oakland, California, dismissed all claims in a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, on May 18, 2026. The decision follows a three-week trial that examined the fractured relationship between the two former business partners and the trajectory of the company behind ChatGPT.
The jury reached a unanimous verdict in less than two hours, determining that Musk had waited too long to initiate the legal action. According to the jury’s finding, Musk was beyond the statute of limitations when he launched the case in 2024.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California tossed the case after agreeing with the jury’s conclusion. The judge stated that there was a substantial amount of evidence to support the finding.
I’ve always said I would accept the jury’s verdict,Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
The legal battle centered on the direction of OpenAI since the falling out between Musk and Altman nearly a decade ago. The trial provided a public look at the ambitions and fears that led the two personalities to collaborate 11 years ago to launch the artificial intelligence research organization before they eventually parted ways over disputes regarding how to run the company.
The dismissal provides a definitive legal conclusion to the specific claims brought by Musk in 2024, though the underlying tensions regarding the governance and mission of OpenAI remain a point of industry discussion.