Jury rules against Elon Musk in suit against OpenAI

An Oakland, California jury rejected Elon Musk’s claims against Open AI and its CEO Sam Altman, after just two hours of deliberation on Monday and three weeks of testimony. According to CNBC, the court, led by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, agreed with the jury’s determination that Altman and Open AI were not liable, and that “claims of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment are dismissed as untimely.” Musk’s lawyer said he reserved the ​right to appeal, Reuters reported, but the judge suggested he may have an uphill battle because the question of whether the statute of limitations ran ​out before Musk sued was a factual issue. “There’s a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury’s ⁠finding, which is why I was prepared to dismiss on the spot,” U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said. The jury’s rapid, unanimous decision follows a high profile, bitter courtroom battle between two of the tech industry’s most powerful players, and could clear the way for OpenAI to move forward with a highly anticipated initial public stock offering. Lawyers for OpenAI erupted in cheers and clapping after the verdict was announced, according to Wired reporter Max Zeff. The decision deals a blow to Musk, the world’s richest person, who sued Altman and OpenAI in 2024, alleging they violated their commitment to keep the AI research lab as a nonprofit. Musk helped start OpenAI in 2015, but left the board three years later. Musk’s lawsuit has asked for $150 billion in damages to be redirected to a charitable trust, and requested an unwinding OpenAI’s for-profit corporate structure. Microsoft, which invested in OpenAI as early as 2019, was also named as a defendant in the suit, with Musk claiming the software giant aided and abetted the AI startup in its alleged breach of the charitable trust. The court said the claim against Microsoft was also dismissed. As Fortune‘s Jeremy Kahn wrote in a