Court rules for OpenAI in Musk lawsuit against the company

May 18 (UPI) -- A jury on Monday threw out Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman because he waited too long to file the claims.

Musk contributed to OpenAI with about $38 million when it started as a non-profit but objected when the company pivoted to starting a for-profit arm for its products.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed the lawsuit because it was brought after the timeframe set out by a state statute of limitations, CNN and NBC News reported.

OpenAI contended that Musk did not object to the for-profit division until he founded his xAI company after buying Twitter, which the company's attorneys objected as being a reaction to having a potential rival in the AI industry.

"The court now confirms the prior indication that it would accept the jury's findings as its own," Rogers said.

"I think that there's a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury's findings, which is why I prepared to dismiss on the spot," she said.

The unanimous jury verdict is based on the jury rejecting Musk's claim that the company had breached their non-profit duty, reports said.

Musk, who called himself a "fool" for giving them "free funding to create a startup, threatened OpenAI's plan to issue an initial public offering (IPO) for stock in the company as it has launched its for-profit business.

OpenAI's lawyers argued that Musk's contributions to the company did not include a commitment to remain a non-profit business and successfully argued that the company's actions had not violated laws or contracts.

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 7:13 PM.