Key moments in the Musk vs OpenAI trial

A California jury unanimously ruled in favor of OpenAI on Monday, dismissing Elon Musk’s lawsuit alleging the company’s leaders breached their agreement to maintain OpenAI as a nonprofit. The jury found Musk waited too long to sue, as he had a three-year statute of limitations and allegedly knew of OpenAI’s for-profit plans years earlier. Musk had sought $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, along with the removal of CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. Musk argued OpenAI abandoned its mission to benefit humanity by shifting to a profit-driven model, calling it a violation of charitable principles. He testified that OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit to prevent AI misuse and warned that allowing charities to be exploited would undermine philanthropy. OpenAI countered that Musk’s claims were driven by a desire for control, citing his past demands for a 90% stake in the company and proposals to merge OpenAI with Tesla. Testimony revealed tensions over OpenAI’s future, including a 2025 takeover offer from Musk’s rival company xAI, which OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor called contradictory to Musk’s lawsuit. Brockman testified Musk’s real motive was securing OpenAI’s resources to fund his Mars colony ambitions, citing a SpaceX plan to award Musk shares tied to establishing a Martian settlement. Musk also highlighted concerns about AI safety, recalling discussions with Google’s Larry Page, who allegedly dismissed human extinction risks from AI. OpenAI opposed Musk’s attempts to question expert witnesses on AI extinction risks, arguing the topic was irrelevant to the case. The ruling concludes a three-week trial, leaving Musk’s legal challenges to OpenAI unresolved.