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Elon Musk\u2019s lawsuit<\/a> against OpenAI will go to trial after a U.S. judge said there is evidence to support the billionaire\u2019s case.\u00a0<\/p>\n Musk sued OpenAI and its co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman in 2024, alleging they betrayed their original contractual agreements by pursuing profits instead of the nonprofit\u2019s founding mission to develop AI that benefits humanity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Musk, who has launched his own for-profit company xAI<\/a>, was an early financial backer and co-founder of OpenAI. He resigned from the board in 2018 after his bid to take over as CEO was rejected by the other co-founders, who put Altman up for the job. Officially, Musk cited potential conflicts of interest with Tesla\u2019s own AI development for self-driving cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since leaving OpenAI, he\u2019s been a vocal critic<\/a> of the firm\u2019s transition to a for-profit model, and even made an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid<\/a> to buy OpenAI in February 2025, which Altman rejected. OpenAI, which was founded in 2015 as a non-profit research lab, first began to move away from its pure non-profit roots in 2019 by creating a for-profit subsidiary with a \u201ccapped-profit\u201d model that limited investor returns. This was designed to help OpenAI raise the massive amounts of funding it needed to scale and attract top talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s lawsuit was unable to stop OpenAI from converting into a non-profit, and in October 2025, the corporation completed its formal restructuring process<\/a>. The for-profit branch became a Public Benefit Corporation, with the original non-profit retaining a 26% equity stake.\u00a0<\/p>\n Musk is now seeking monetary damages from what he says are \u201cill-gotten gains\u201d by OpenAI. He says he invested about $38 million in early funding, as well as guidance and credibility, based on assurances that OpenAI would remain a nonprofit.<\/p>\n An OpenAI spokesperson told TechCrunch Musk\u2019s lawsuit is \u201cbaseless and a part of his ongoing pattern of harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said her decision was based on evidence suggesting OpenAI\u2019s leaders made assurances that its original nonprofit structure would be maintained, as Musk alleges. A jury trial for March has been tentatively scheduled.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n