Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will go to trial on April 27, according to a federal court order issued Tuesday. The case centers on Musk's claim that OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission to become a Microsoft-linked for-profit enterprise.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers scheduled the jury trial for Oakland, California. Musk alleges Altman "intentionally courted and deceived" him by presenting OpenAI as a nonprofit counterweight to Google's DeepMind that would develop open-source AI for humanity.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO was OpenAI's original co-founder and largest early backer in 2015, contributing tens of millions in seed capital before departing in 2018. He claims OpenAI's leadership violated its founding mission by restructuring the organization, creating for-profit affiliates, and striking multibillion-dollar deals.
OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, three years after Microsoft began investing billions in the company. Microsoft became OpenAI's largest shareholder following a restructuring last year. Musk founded competing AI startup xAI in July 2023, which recently secured $20 billion in Series E funding.
The legal showdown will determine whether OpenAI broke its promise to operate as a "nonprofit organization that does not pursue profit." OpenAI called Musk's claims "flimsy" and asked the court to dismiss the suit, but Judge Rogers denied the request.
OpenAI reorganized its corporate structure last October into a public benefit corporation that pursues both profit and public interest, while maintaining control under the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation. The trial comes as AI industry competition intensifies between Musk's xAI, OpenAI, and other major players.
