Musk filed his lawsuit against OpenAI too late: US jury
A United States jury has thrown out Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI in a blow to the co-founder.
A US jury has tossed out Elon Muskâs âlawsuit against OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company he co-founded with Sam Altman.
In a âunanimous verdict, the jury in Oakland, Californiaâs federal court said Musk had brought his case too late.
It took less than two hours on Monday (local time) to find OpenAI was not liable to Musk for having allegedly strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity.
The trial had widely âbeen seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence generally, both in how it should be used and who should benefit from it.
Following the verdict, Muskâs lawyer said he reserved the right to appeal.
But the judge suggested he may have an uphill battle because the statute of limitations had run out before Musk sued.
âThereâs a substantial amount of evidence to support the juryâs finding, which is why I was âprepared to dismiss âon the spot,â US District â Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said.
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Another of Muskâs lawyers, Marc Toberoff, said: âThis war is not over, and Iâd sum it up in one word, appeal.â
An OpenAI spokesman, Sam Singer, said the verdict was a âtremendous victoryâ.
âThis was nothing but an effort by Mr Musk to slow down a competitor,â he said.
In his 2024 lawsuit, Musk accused OpenAI, its chief executive Sam Altman and âits president Greg Brockman of manipulating him into giving $US38 million ($53 million), then going behind his back by attaching a for-profit business to its original nonprofit and accepting tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors.
Musk called the OpenAI defendantsâ conduct âstealing a charityâ.
OpenAI was founded by Altman, Musk and several others in 2015.
He left its board in 2018, and OpenAI set up a for-profit business the next year.
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Many people express distrust of the technology âand worry it could âdisplace people from their jobs.
The verdict followed 11 days of testimony and arguments where Muskâs and Altmanâs credibility came under repeated attack.
Each side accused the âother of being âmore interested in money than serving the public.
In his closing argument, Muskâs lawyer Steven Molo reminded jurors that several witnesses questioned Altmanâs candour or branded âhim a liar, and that Altman did not give an unqualified yes when asked during the trial if he was completely trustworthy.
âSam Altmanâs credibility is directly at issue,â Molo said.
âIf you donât believe him, they cannot win.â
Musk accused OpenAI of wrongfully trying to enrich investors and insiders âat âthe non-profitâs expense, and failing to prioritise AIâs safety.
He âalso contended that Microsoft knew all along that OpenAI cared more about money âthan being altruistic.
OpenAI countered that it was Musk who saw dollar signs, and that he waited too long to claim OpenAI breached its founding agreement to build safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity.
âMr Musk may have the Midas touch in some areas but not in AI,â William Savitt, a lawyer for OpenAI, said in his closing argument.
OpenAI competes with AI companies such as Anthropic and xAI, and is preparing for a possible initial public offering that could value the business at $US1 trillion.
Microsoft has âspent more than $US100 billion on its partnership with OpenAI, a Microsoft executive testified.
Muskâs xAI is now part of his space and rocket company SpaceX, âwhich is preparing a IPO that â could exceed OpenAIâs in size.
-with AAP
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