The long-running legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI reached a critical milestone this week, as opening arguments commenced on April 28 in an Oakland, California federal court. The trial, which follows the completion of jury selection on Monday, centers on Musk's claims that OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman betrayed the company's founding nonprofit mission.
Musk's lead attorney, Steven Molo, delivered a forceful opening statement, telling the nine-person jury that "without Elon Musk, there would be no OpenAI, pure and simple." Molo urged jurors to look past their personal opinions about the billionaire, acknowledging that public sentiment is mixed. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who presided over jury selection, reportedly noted that "the reality is people don't like him" but expressed confidence in the jury's ability to be impartial.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity, left the board in 2018 following disputes over control. He originally filed 26 claims against the company, Altman, and co-founder Greg Brockman in August 2024. However, pre-trial rulings have narrowed the case to two surviving claims: breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.
At the heart of the dispute is OpenAI's restructuring. In 2019, it created a for-profit unit, and in October 2025, it converted entirely into a public benefit corporation (PBC), with its original nonprofit arm holding a 26% stake. Musk argues that this conversion illegally moved assets built using charitable donations—including his own $38 million in early funding—into private hands. He is not seeking damages for himself; instead, he is asking the court to redirect up to $134 billion in what his lawyers characterize as wrongful gains back to OpenAI's charitable arm. Other potential remedies include the removal of Altman and Brockman from leadership and the unwinding of the 2025 restructuring.
Internal documents released during the case provide a rare glimpse into OpenAI's early internal dynamics. A diary entry from Brockman in 2017 reads: "This is the only chance we have to get out from Elon." Another entry shows him weighing personal finances, asking: "Financially, what will take me to $1B?"
The trial structure is complex. The liability phase is expected to run through approximately May 21, with jury deliberations beginning around May 12. Both sides have been allocated exactly 22 hours for their full case presentation, including all witnesses, opening statements, and closing arguments. Microsoft, also named as a defendant, has an additional five hours for its separate defense. Notably, the jury's verdict is advisory only; Judge Gonzalez Rogers will make the final decision on both liability and remedies.
Key witnesses expected to testify include Musk, Altman, Brockman, former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, former CTO Mira Murati, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member who is also the mother of four of Musk's children. OpenAI's legal team has alleged that Zilis passed internal company information to Musk.
OpenAI's defense argues that Musk was involved in early discussions about the for-profit conversion and that he actively pushed to fold the company into Tesla before his departure. The company characterizes the lawsuit as a commercially motivated attempt to damage a direct competitor to Musk's xAI, which was valued at $250 billion when it merged with SpaceX in an all-stock deal in February 2026.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said he expects the trial to result in "scrapes and bruises" rather than fatal damage to OpenAI. The company, currently valued at over $850 billion, is preparing for a potential IPO that could push its valuation to $1 trillion. The trial represents a significant legal and reputational challenge as it approaches that milestone.
