Jury rejects Elon Musk's lawsuit against Open AI CEO Sam Altman

The issue of the timing of the lawsuit was central to the case, NBC News reported, as Musk filed the case a few years after the statute of limitations for such claims were made.

By Kevin Killough

Published: May 18, 2026 3:06pm

Updated: May 18, 2026 3:08pm

A federal jury on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, deciding he waited too long to file the suit.

Musk and Altman founded Open AI in 2015 as a nonprofit that would develop artificial intelligence safely.

Musk's lawsuit argues that Altman and others mislead him and early donors by shifting the company to a for-profit model, thereby unlawfully enriching himself.

The issue of the timing of the lawsuit was central to the case, NBC News reported, as Musk filed his lawsuit a few years after the statute of limitations for such claims had run out.

Musk had testified during the trial that his delay was because he had believed Altman's assurances over the years. It wasn't until 2023, when Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI's for-profit arm in exchange for intellectual property rights and a share of future profits, that Musk came to believe the charity was stolen. Musk filed his lawsuit in 2024.

The jury reached a unanimous verdict after two hours of deliberations.