OpenAI defeats Elon Musk's lawsuit, removes obstacle to IPO

A U.S. jury ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding the artificial intelligence ​company not liable to the world's richest person for having allegedly strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity, Reuters reported.

In a unanimous verdict, the jury in Oakland, California, federal court said Musk ‌brought his case too late. The jury deliberated less than two hours.

The verdict simplifies the path for OpenAI to proceed with a possible initial public offering that could value the business at $1 trillion.

But OpenAI's public face, Chief Executive Sam Altman, must also address the challenges to his reputation from some extremely personal testimony during ​the trial, including multiple witnesses describing him as a liar.

Musk said he will appeal, repeating his claim that Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman viewed OpenAI as a means to great wealth.

"Altman & ​Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!" Musk posted on X. "Creating a precedent to loot ⁠charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America."

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who oversaw the trial, said in court after the verdict that Musk may face an uphill battle in an appeal, because ​whether the statute of limitations ran out before he 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," the ​judge said.

OpenAI was founded by Altman, Musk and several others in 2015. Musk left its board in 2018, and OpenAI set up a for-profit business the next year.

Musk ​has since founded his own artificial intelligence startup, xAI, which is now part of his SpaceX rocket and satellite company.