Source: Hindustan Times

A California federal jury delivered a unanimous verdict that Elon Musk brought his case against Sam Altman's OpenAI too late, and the court found Altman's company not liable for the allegations that it had strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity. The trial began on April 28 and encompassed 11 days of arguments and testimony, during which both sides questioned the other’s credibility and exchanged claims about motives—Musk accusing OpenAI of enriching investors and insiders and failing to prioritise AI safety, and OpenAI countering that Musk himself was focused on money and delayed bringing the claim.

Closing arguments featured Steven Molo for Musk highlighting witnesses who described Altman as dishonest and challenging his trustworthiness, while William Savitt for OpenAI argued against Musk’s AI credentials. Testimony in court included reference to OpenAI's commercial prospects — including competition with Anthropic and xAI and preparations for a potential IPO that could be valued at $1 trillion — and a company executive’s reported statement that Microsoft has invested over $100 billion in its partnership with OpenAI. The verdict leaves OpenAI without liability on the asserted mission-breach claims as presented in the trial record.