Elon Musk’s claims that he was treated unfairly by OpenAI’s co-founders failed after a nine-judge California jury unanimously ruled that the lawsuit was filed too late.
Musk accused Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, OpenAI, and Microsoft of “stealing charity” by creating a for-profit affiliate of Frontier AI Labs. However, the jury found that any damages that Musk may have suffered occurred before the deadline under the law to file a claim.
The trial delved into OpenAI’s melodramatic history and featured testimony from key figures in Silicon Valley, but ultimately focused on a fairly narrow question of law. The trial focused on whether and when Altman and the other defendants made and broke promises to Musk, but Musk’s case failed to convince jurors of the merits of his claims.
In particular, OpenAI was pursuing a statute of limitations defense that seeks to prove that any of the harms Musk is suing for occurred before 2021 (the specific dates vary by complaint; the first count is before August 5, 2021, the second is before August 5, 2022, and the third is November 14, 2021). In the end, the jury found the arguments persuasive and deliberated briefly. period.
After handing down the verdict, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said, “There was substantial evidence supporting the jury’s verdict, and I was prepared to dismiss it on the spot.”
The conclusion of the lawsuit means that one of the major threats to OpenAI, a possible restructuring, is off the table ahead of the company’s reported IPO.
Microsoft, which Musk sued for aiding and abetting OpenAI’s alleged violation of a charitable trust, welcomed the ruling. A company spokesperson said: “We remain committed to working with OpenAI to advance and scale AI for people and organizations around the world.”
The ruling came during a hearing to determine the damages that could be done to Musk if the ruling had gone the other way. That argument is moot so far, but the judge appears unconvinced by Musk’s lawyers’ comparison between donating to charity and investing in a for-profit startup.
“Your analysis seems to lack a connection to the underlying facts,” she told Dr. C. Paul Wazan, an expert who produced estimates of OpenAI and Microsoft’s ill-gotten gains at Mr. Musk’s expense (approximately $78.8 billion to $135 billion).
When asked for comment by TechCrunch, Musk’s lead attorney, Mark Toberoff, said: “One word: We will appeal.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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