A four-week federal trial over the soul of OpenAI, diary entries, $150 billion in damages sought, and the question of whether the nonprofit could become the world’s most valuable AI company.
A years-long legal battle ensued Elon Musk again Sam Altman The future of OpenAI moved from social media to federal court in Oakland, California on Monday, as jury selection begins in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Opening arguments are expected on Tuesday.
The trial, presided over by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, is scheduled to last four weeks, until mid-May, with court hearings Monday through Thursday. The jury’s decision will be advisory: the final decision on liability and any remedies rests with Judge Gonzalez Rogers himself.
The case focuses on Musk’s claim that he founded OpenAI in 2015 with Altman, Greg Brockman, and others with the clear understanding that it will remain a non-profit organization dedicated to developing general artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity, and that Altman and Brockman deceived him when they turned OpenAI, MuskarAI into OpenAI 201 months after Openteen left Openteen. the board. Musk’s lawsuit, filed in August 2024, alleges breach of trust for the charity, fraud, and that Microsoft aided and abetted the breach.
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He wants $150 billion in funding from OpenAI and Microsoft, with the proceeds directed to OpenAI’s philanthropic arm; and is seeking Altman’s removal from both the for-profit entity and the non-profit board, as well as an order requiring OpenAI to return to non-profit status.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers expedited the trial because he concluded there was an important public interest in his speedy decision.
OpenAI’s counter-narrative has been identified and supported by internal documentation. The company says that Musk was not misled about the for-profit transition, that he was actually involved in discussions about it, but that he wanted OpenAI to be merged with Tesla and wanted to lead the combined organization himself.
When Altman and Brockman refused, OpenAI argues, Musk chose to leave and launch his own AI lab. The most important document found is a diary written by Brockman, written in the fall of 2017, which reads: This is the only chance we have to get out of Elon. Is he a ‘glorious leader’ that I can choose?”
That entry will be the crux of the case for both sides: for Musk, it proves a conspiracy to oust him; to OpenAI, it proves that OpenAI’s leadership had legitimate concerns about Musk’s regulatory ambitions.
The witness list is a who’s who of the AI era. Both Musk and Altman are expected to testify in person. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to appear, as is Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member and the mother of Musk’s four children.
Lawyers for OpenAI have indicated that they will argue that Zilis passed on information about OpenAI to Musk while he was no longer on the board, a claim that, if established, would put personal and business dimensions in the same frame.
Depending on how the plaintiffs line up their witnesses, Musk could be called to the stand on Tuesday.
The pre-trial rulings have been heavily contested by Musk. He first sought damages of over 100 billion; after the rulings limited the available claims, he dropped the personal injury suit and is now seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI’s charitable arm.
The judge ruled that Musk cannot be questioned during the trial about the alleged use of ketamine, a decision that limits one line of attack on his credibility, but allowed questions about his attendance at the 2017 Burning Man festival and his relationship with Zilis.
The case also has a personal exposure of Musk that exceeds the legal outcome: last month, a different judge charged him with defrauding investors when he bought Twitter for $ 44 billion in 2022, and any damaging evidence about his business conduct in this case will appear during SpaceX’s planned IPO this summer.
OpenAI stakes exist in a sense. If Judge Gonzalez Rogers finds for Musk and orders OpenAI to withdraw its profit margin, the company’s ability to raise capital, pursue its planned IPO at a valuation of around $1 trillion, and operate as a commercial enterprise will be directly threatened.
OpenAI has nearly 852 billion weekly active users, and recently closed a $122 billion funding round. Microsoft holds a 27% stake in the nonprofit. All of that structure is dependent on the change in profits that Musk is asking the court to reverse.
The case is also, as NPR’s Casey Newton observed, a conflict within “Two Great People” His public quarrel has been one of the dramas of the AI era, from Musk’s $ 97.4 billion purchase of OpenAI in February 2025 (Altman argued by promising to buy X for $ 9.74 billion) to their competing positions in X before the start of the trial.
“I can’t wait for the trial to begin,” Musk posted in January.
“I’m so excited to have Elon sworn in in a few months, Christmas in April!” Altman responded in February.
