A US jury has ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, Sam Altman and Microsoft. The Tesla chief executive alleged that OpenAI and its boss had strayed from the company's core mission. OpenAI was founded by Mr Altman, Mr Musk and several others in 2015.
In a unanimous verdict, the jury in Oakland, California federal court said Mr Musk had brought his case too late. The trial began on April 28. It has widely been seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence generally, both in how it should be used and who should benefit from it, including financially.
In his 2024 lawsuit, Mr Musk accused OpenAI, chief executive Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman of manipulating him into giving $US38 million ($53 million), then going behind his back by attaching a for-profit business to its original nonprofit and accepting tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors. Mr Musk called the OpenAI defendants' conduct 'stealing a charity'.
OpenAI was founded by Mr Altman, Mr Musk and several others in 2015. Mr Musk left its board in 2018, and OpenAI set up a for-profit business the next year. The verdict followed 11 days of testimony and arguments where Mr Musk's and Mr Altman's credibility came under repeated attack. Each side accused the other of being more interested in money than serving the public.
In his closing argument, Mr Musk's lawyer, Steven Molo, reminded jurors that several witnesses questioned Mr Altman's candour or branded him a liar. Mr Musk accused OpenAI of wrongfully trying to enrich investors and insiders at the nonprofit's expense, and failing to prioritise AI's safety. OpenAI countered that it was Mr Musk who saw dollar signs, and that he waited too long to claim OpenAI breached its founding agreement.
OpenAI competes with AI companies such as Anthropic and Mr Musk's xAI, and is preparing for a possible initial public offering that could value the business at $US1 trillion. Microsoft has spent more than $US100 billion on its partnership with OpenAI, a Microsoft executive testified. Mr Musk's xAI is now part of his space and rocket company SpaceX, which is preparing an IPO that could exceed OpenAI's in size.
