OpenAI wins key lawsuit! Jury rejects Musk's accusation of "deviating from the public good mission", stating that "the lawsuit was filed too late"

The long-running legal battle between OpenAI and Tesla, Inc. CEO Elon Musk (TSLA.US) has reached a significant milestone. The federal court jury in Oakland, California ruled on Monday that Musk's core allegation against OpenAI of "deviating from its mission of public good and turning towards profit-seeking" was not valid due to the lawsuit being filed too late. The jury unanimously agreed that Musk was aware of the relevant circumstances several years ago and therefore should not have waited until 2024 to formally file the lawsuit. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, when accepting the jury's decision, said: "I believe there is ample evidence to support the jury's conclusion." This case has been drawing widespread attention in Silicon Valley since Musk filed the lawsuit in 2024. Musk had accused OpenAI, under the leadership of Ultman and Brockman, of betraying its original nonprofit mission to "benefit all mankind" and transforming into a profit-seeking enterprise. He also attempted to revoke the commercialization restructuring completed by OpenAI last year through a court order. The ruling is seen as an important victory for OpenAI, especially in the context of the company's potential IPO plans in the future. OpenAI lawyer William Savitt said after the trial, "The jury's ruling proves that this lawsuit fundamentally is a hypocritical act of a competitor trying to sabotage the development of OpenAI." However, Musk's side has stated that they will continue to appeal. His lawyer, Marc Toberoff, likened this case to the "Siege of Charleston" and the "Battle of Bunker Hill" in American history, saying "the war is not over yet." Musk himself later posted on social media stating that the jury and judge "did not truly rule on the merits of the case, but only made a decision based on procedural timing issues." During the trial, the jury heard testimony for nearly three weeks, including from Musk, Ultman, Brockman, and several key individuals from OpenAI. The jury also reviewed numerous private chat records, company documents, and internal logs, showcasing OpenAI's evolution in the past 11 years from a startup AI lab to a company valued close to a trillion dollars. During the trial, both sides presented entirely different narratives of OpenAI's transformation process. Musk's side claimed that Ultman and Brockman "stole a charity," and accused Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) of assisting in the commercialization transformation by investing $13 billion in OpenAI. Microsoft Corporation welcomed the jury's decision, stating that the "facts and timeline of the case have always been very clear." At the same time, the trial also exposed the massive wealth acquired by OpenAI's senior executives and investors. Brockman confirmed that the value of his stake is close to $30 billion; former Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever stated that his equity is worth around $7 billion. Microsoft Corporation CEO Nadella revealed that the company's goal is to receive a $92 billion return from its investment in OpenAI. OpenAI, on the other hand, accused Musk of being a "disgruntled competitor." The company stated that Musk left years ago because he couldn't obtain absolute control over OpenAI, eventually founding a competitor xAI in 2023. OpenAI emphasized that the company's shift to a for-profit model was to obtain the massive funding needed to develop General Artificial Intelligence (AGI), and that its mission for public good has not changed.