A California jury handed OpenAI a win on Monday after it said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk waited too long to sue the artificial intelligence company.
The jury spent about 90 minutes deliberating and found that the statute of limitations barred Musk’s lawsuit, according to CNN. Musk sued OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, company president Greg Brockman, and the company in early 2024. He alleged that they “stole a charity” after it shifted to a for-profit company.
Musk previously helped cofound and fund the company, giving $38 million, CNN reports.
Trial timeline
The trial began on April 27 in Oakland, California, and showed the fallout between two Big Tech heavyweights. During testimony, OpenAI claimed it never promised to stay a nonprofit forever. They argued that Musk knew this and filed his lawsuit because he began to lose unilateral control over the company.
The weeks-long trial included testimony from Musk and Altman, along with other major figures in the tech world, like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
OpenAI painted Musk’s allegations as a way at undercutting its massive growth and prop up Musk’s own AI company xAI. Musk launched the company in 2023 as a direct competitor to OpenAI.
Former OpenAI board members also testified during the trial, speaking about their decision to fire Altman as CEO in 2023. Altman returned to his position just days after.
During his testimony, Altman said he highly respected Musk before the issues began, saying it felt like he never came through on his promises.
“I felt like he had abandoned us … jeopardized the mission, didn’t really care about the things I thought he cared about,” Altman said. “It’s been an extremely painful thing for me … to have someone that I respected so much not acknowledge that and continue to publicly attack us.”
A lawyer representing Musk said he plans to appeal the decision, according to The New York Times.
Round out your reading
- They built an Epstein files library, but realized they couldn’t let everyone read them.
- The doctor who claims functional medicine reversed her MS.
- For many Americans, ‘one more round’ no longer serves their lifestyle or budget.
- Trump claimed economic data is ‘rigged.’ Former officials pledge to ‘watch like hawks’ for political manipulation.
- We’re building a new Straight Arrow. Help us shape our future by taking our survey.