Musk vs. Altman Trial Reaches Jury in OpenAI Governance Dispute

The jury in the Elon Musk et al. v. Sam Altman et al. case will begin deliberations on Monday at a federal courthouse in Oakland, California. The nine-person advisory jury is weighing whether Sam Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman betrayed the nonprofit mission of the company they co-founded with Musk in 2015.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will make the final decision. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit focused on developing AI for humanity’s benefit and donated approximately $38 million before leaving the board in February 2018. OpenAI later established a for-profit subsidiary, raised billions from Microsoft and others, and completed a full restructuring into a public benefit corporation in October 2025.

The company is now valued at $852 billion. Musk filed suit in 2024 alleging breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment. His lawyers have argued he is entitled to up to $134 billion in damages or that any ill-gotten gains should be returned to the nonprofit.

OpenAI has responded that Musk is motivated by jealousy and a desire to derail a competing AI company.

Musk testified in the first week of the trial and described his donation as funding a charity for humanity’s benefit. He accused Altman and Brockman of stealing it and said the consequences of the case go far beyond him. Musk acknowledged he never fulfilled his $1 billion pledge to OpenAI, donating roughly $38 million in total.

Greg Brockman’s personal diary entries from 2017 were read in court. One entry questioned whether OpenAI wanted to bring Musk to control of AGI while another asked what would take him to $1 billion financially. Brockman’s stake in OpenAI is now worth approximately $30 billion.

He described the entries as expressions of frustration never intended for public view. Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati testified about safety concerns with Altman’s decision-making. Texts between Murati and Altman from the week of his 2023 firing described the situation as directionally very bad and referred to his temporary replacement as rando Twitch guy.

Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member and senior adviser to Musk, testified that her relationship with Musk did not affect her conduct as a board member. After Musk left the board in 2018 she texted him asking whether she should stay close to OpenAI to keep information flowing.

Musk told her to stay close.

Satya Nadella testified that the company’s early investment in OpenAI was a genuine financial risk. He denied demanding Altman’s reinstatement after the 2023 board crisis and described the board’s handling of the episode as amateur city. Internal Microsoft emails from 2018 and 2022 presented in court showed skepticism about OpenAI’s progress and concern about repeating past partnership mistakes.

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever testified that the mission of OpenAI is larger than its structure. He said he turned down a $6 million annual salary at Google to join OpenAI. His current stake is estimated at around $7 billion. Sam Altman testified last Tuesday that Musk abandoned the nonprofit rather than having a charity stolen from him.

The trial also featured a golden trophy of a donkey’s rear end that OpenAI presented as evidence of its commitment to safety over speed. The verdict is advisory. Potential outcomes include up to $150 billion in damages redirected to OpenAI’s nonprofit foundation, the forced unwinding of its 2025 for-profit restructuring, and the removal of Altman and Brockman from their leadership roles.

Any of those results could affect OpenAI’s planned initial public offering.