Musk's $134B Lawsuit vs OpenAI: Closing Arguments and Evidence

Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman, OpenAI, and Microsoft for $134 billion. He alleges the defendants breached a charitable trust by converting an open‑source nonprofit into a closed‑source for‑profit entity. Musk seeks disgorgement of the full amount, the unwinding of the for‑profit conversion, and the removal of Altman and Greg Brockman.

Historical Context

OpenAI was founded in 2015 by Musk, Altman, Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever as a nonprofit dedicated to open AI research. Musk contributed $38 million before leaving the board in 2018 after a failed attempt to take control. The organization later created a for‑profit subsidiary, secured a $13 billion investment from Microsoft, and reached a valuation near $1 trillion.

Key Evidence and Discovery

Discovery revealed extensive leaks of private emails, texts and diary entries. In 2017, during a meeting at a house near San Francisco—referred to in testimony as the “haunted mansion”—Musk proposed converting OpenAI to a for‑profit with himself as CEO and majority shareholder. Brockman testified that Musk became furious when co‑founders suggested equal equity. In November 2023, Altman was briefly fired after Ilya Sutskever accused him of a “consistent pattern of lying.” Mira Murati served as interim CEO during the leadership crisis before Altman was reinstated.

Trial Outlook

Musk’s legal team argues that Altman lacks trustworthiness and has enriched himself through connected deals, including the fact that Musk’s company xAI distills OpenAI models. OpenAI’s counsel counters that Musk never cared about the nonprofit structure and is attempting to sabotage a competitor. The jury’s role is advisory; the final decision will be made by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.