Jury Sworn In for Elon Musk's Lawsuit Against OpenAI in Oakland Federal Court

A nine-person jury was sworn in on Monday for the trial of Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, with proceedings underway in a federal courtroom in Oakland, California. The trial, expected to run for four weeks, began with jury selection on April 27.

Musk is seeking more than $130 billion in damages, directed to OpenAI's nonprofit arm, and demands the removal of CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman.

Musk alleges unjust enrichment and breach of charitable trust, claiming Altman and Brockman betrayed OpenAI's original nonprofit mission by converting it to a for-profit entity. His legal team dropped 24 of 26 original claims, narrowing the focus. OpenAI argues Musk sought control and left when denied it, calling the suit a harassment campaign.

Witnesses include Musk, Altman, Brockman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, former OpenAI scientists Mira Murati and Ilya Sutskever, and former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis. Musk donated roughly $38 million to OpenAI's earliest funding, and alleged in the suit he contributed around $40 million.

Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015, introduced by a Silicon Valley investor in 2012.

Altman is 14 years younger than Musk. In 2017, OpenAI shifted from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity. In an email a few months prior to his departure, Musk wrote: 'Guys, I've had enough.

Either go do something on your own or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit. OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, which reached 100 million monthly active users within months. OpenAI now counts roughly 800 million weekly active users and is valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, with its for-profit subsidiary valued at nearly $1 trillion.

The company was valued at $157 billion in a recent funding round and is approaching a rumored public listing with a value of about $850 billion. A potential IPO could arrive as early as late 2026. Musk sued OpenAI in 2024.