Friday, October 9, 2026

Jury dismisses Elon Musk’s $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, Sam Altman

Mr Musk’s legal team said the tech billionaire would appeal the court’s verdict.

• May 19, 2026
Musk, Altman

A federal jury on Monday unanimously rejected Elon Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI of violating its charter as a charitable organization.

Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, the presiding judge, dismissed Mr Musk’s lawsuit after a nine-member jury in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, concluded that the suit was not filed within the legally required time frame.

In 2024, the tech billionaire had accused OpenAI and its chiefs, Altman and Greg Brockman of “breach of charitable trust.” Mr Musk also accused OpenAI investor, Microsoft, of “aiding and abetting” its breach of charitable trust.

Mr Musk’s legal team said the tech billionaire would appeal the court’s verdict.

In a post on X, Mr Musk doubled down on his allegations against Messrs Altman and Brockman, vowing he “will be filing an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, because creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America”.

“Regarding the OpenAI case, the judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality,” Mr Musk said. “There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!”

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