Hajra Naz
Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI is moving forward to trial after a U.S. judge determined there is enough evidence to support the billionaire’s claims. The trial is tentatively scheduled for March 2026.
Background: Musk vs. OpenAI
Musk filed the lawsuit in 2024 against OpenAI and its co-founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. He alleges they broke their original contractual agreements by prioritizing profits over the nonprofit’s founding mission: developing AI that benefits humanity.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI and provided early funding, resigned from the board in 2018. He had sought the CEO position but was passed over in favor of Altman. Musk officially cited potential conflicts of interest with Tesla’s AI projects for self-driving cars.
Dispute Over Nonprofit vs. For-Profit
Since leaving OpenAI, Musk has been a vocal critic of the company’s shift toward a for-profit model. In February 2025, he even made a $97.4 billion unsolicited bid to buy OpenAI, which Altman rejected.
OpenAI, founded in 2015 as a nonprofit lab, began transitioning in 2019 by creating a “capped-profit” subsidiary. This model allowed investors to earn limited returns while helping the company raise massive funding to scale operations and attract top AI talent.
Current Legal Stakes
Musk claims he invested around $38 million, along with guidance and credibility, based on assurances that OpenAI would remain a nonprofit. He is now seeking monetary damages from what he calls “ill-gotten gains.
An OpenAI spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless, framing it as part of Musk’s “ongoing pattern of harassment.”
Judge Approves Trial
District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in favor of moving the case forward. Musk presented evidence that OpenAI leaders promised to maintain its nonprofit structure. The case will now go to trial. Musk will have a chance to argue that the company broke its founding commitments.
