California’s federal court has struck out the litigation suit filed by Elon Musk against OpenAI, delivering a heavy legal blow to the multibillionaire businessman’s decade-long conflict with the firm behind ChatGPT.
In the hearing that took place in Oakland, Musk argued that OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman reneged on the firm’s nonprofit agenda and covertly made it a for-profit enterprise.
Nonetheless, a nine-member jury gave a unanimous ruling, claiming that Musk filed his lawsuit late, past the statutory period. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers upheld the advice of the jurors and ruled against Musk in Monday’s hearing. Apparently, the jury took less than two hours to come up with its verdict.
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A bitter fallout inside the AI boom
The three-week trial offered an unusually public look into the deteriorating relationship between Musk and OpenAI’s leadership.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and invested around $38 million during its early years. He later accused Altman and senior executives of betraying the company’s founding vision of developing artificial intelligence for humanity’s benefit rather than private profit.
Elon Musk tells BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum that he’s an alien from the future. pic.twitter.com/31pB1IBXP4
— redpillbot (@redpillb0t) March 24, 2026
OpenAI rejected the allegations throughout the case, arguing there was never a promise to remain a nonprofit forever. The company also claimed Musk’s legal action stemmed partly from frustration over not having greater control over OpenAI’s direction.
During testimony, Musk described the dispute in blunt terms. “It’s not OK to steal a charity,” he told jurors.
OpenAI, meanwhile, characterised the lawsuit as an attempt to slow down the company’s explosive growth while strengthening Musk’s own AI venture, xAI, launched in 2023.
Trial exposed internal tensions at OpenAI
The lawsuit itself has revived some old controversies revolving around OpenAI's leadership crisis of 2023, when Altman was temporarily stripped from his position before coming back after only several days.
The former members of the board – Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley – gave testimony regarding the removal of Altman and internal conflicts associated with OpenAI's governance.
Among the many people involved in the legal action were such big names as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI president Greg Brockman. One time during the hearings, Altman himself said that the founding principle of the company was to ensure that artificial general intelligence would not become under control of any individual.
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“Part of the reason we started OpenAI is we didn’t think AGI could be under the control of any one person,” Altman said during testimony. Near the end of the proceedings, Altman described the collapse of his relationship with Musk as “extremely painful,” saying he once deeply respected the Tesla and SpaceX chief.
With the dismissal, a new era is marked in the growing conflict which affects the world artificial intelligence industry, involving rivalries, corporate disputes and controversies about the safety of AI.
