Federal Court Dismisses Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI, Sam Altman As Jury Says He Took To Long To File Suit

A federal court on Monday dismissed the lawsuit Elon Musk filed against OpenAI and its leadership, saying he took too long to do so.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, investing $38 million through its first years. However, he later exited the company and accused its CEO, Sam Altman, and his top deputy of shifting to a for-profit mode behind his back. Altman and OpenAI said there was never a promise to keep the company as a nonprofit forever and Musk knew it.

“We were kind of left for dead,” Altman testified, according to CNBC’s account of the trial involving the two tech billionaires.

Musk, in turn, was seeking the payment of damages to OpenAI’s charitable arm and the ouster of Altman from the company’s board.

The jury in the case, however, concluded after just two hours of deliberation that Musk waited too long to file the suit. Even though it served in an advisory role, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accepted the verdict.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit with a mission to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. In 2019, it created a for-profit subsidiary to raise the massive capital needed for advanced AI research, while maintaining that the nonprofit remained in control. OpenAI says its updated structure keeps the OpenAI Foundation in charge of the for-profit public benefit corporation.

Altman testified that Musk’s exit in 2018 came after other founders rejected his demands for sweeping control. Altman reportedly said Musk wanted unilateral authority and disagreed with others over how equity in a future for-profit entity should be split. “I was extremely uncomfortable with it,” Altman said.

Altman also reportedly testified Musk wanted to be CEO and insisted on “total control” if OpenAI created a for-profit structure. Altman said one “hair-raising” moment came when Musk allegedly suggested that control could pass to his children if he died.

Musk, for his part, has argued that OpenAI’s transformation proves his case. During earlier testimony, he said, “I thought I had started a nonprofit with OpenAI, but they stole it,” calling that “the entire basis of this lawsuit.”

Altman’s testimony also sought to recast Musk not as a betrayed donor but as a rival. Musk launched xAI in 2023, directly competing with OpenAI. OpenAI’s lawyers have argued that the lawsuit is aimed at slowing a competitor, while Musk’s lawyers have painted Altman as untrustworthy and self-interested.

Altman acknowledged Musk’s early role but said the company survived and grew after his departure. “I am grateful to Mr. Musk for his early contributions and guidance,” Altman said. “I wish he would stop what he is doing here.”