A jury unanimously ruled that Elon Musk waited too long to file his lawsuit accusing OpenAI and Sam Altman of misusing charitable funds, dismissing the case on statute of limitations grounds. Musk plans to appeal.
<p>Elon Musk took too long to file his lawsuit that accused OpenAI of stealing a charity, a nine-person jury unanimously decided Monday.</p>
<p>Musk <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/08/openai-wouldnt-exist-without-me-elon-musk-says-reviving-lawsuit/">sued OpenAI in 2024</a> for making a "fool" out of him after Musk donated $38 million to kick-start OpenAI as a nonprofit, only to later be blindsided when OpenAI created a for-profit arm that he felt gutted funding for the charity while enriching executives like Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.</p>
<p>But the jury found that Musk was aware of OpenAI's restructuring plans as early as 2021 and therefore missed the statute of limitations requiring him to bring the lawsuit within three years, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/18/technology/openai-trial-verdict-altman-musk">reported</a>. Because Musk took too long to file the litigation, the jury deemed Altman and Brockman not liable for any of the claims that Musk brought against OpenAI, the NYT reported. The jury also let Microsoft off the hook, finding no liability for the OpenAI investor after Musk alleged they aided OpenAI's get-rich scheme.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/elon-musk-loses-trial-accusing-sam-altman-openai-of-stealing-a-charity/">Read full article</a></p>
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# Elon Musk took too long to sue OpenAI, jury unanimously agrees
Source: [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/elon-musk-loses-trial-accusing-sam-altman-openai-of-stealing-a-charity/](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/elon-musk-loses-trial-accusing-sam-altman-openai-of-stealing-a-charity/)
Altman and Brockman were not present when the verdict came in, the NYT reported\. However, there were “a few smiles from the OpenAI side of the room,” with OpenAI attorney William Savitt wearing “a wide grin,” the NYT reported\. Savitt spent days[grilling Musk on the stand](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/elon-musks-7-biggest-stumbles-on-the-stand-at-openai-trial/), seemingly taking advantage of his prior experience as Musk’s lawyer to get under Musk’s skin\.
In a statement, Microsoft celebrated the win, writing,**“**The facts and the timeline in this case have long been clear, and we welcome the jury’s decision to dismiss these claims as untimely\. We remain committed to our work with OpenAI to advance and scale AI for people and organizations around the world\.”
Musk did not return to the courtroom after delivering his testimony and was also not there when the verdict was read\. Before the verdict arrived, Musk’s lawyer apologized after Musk shirked a court order requiring him to be available in case any further testimony was needed in the case\. In an apparent sign that he was losing interest in the trial, Musk prioritized attending[a summit between Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/desperate-trump-taps-tim-apple-jensen-huang-elon-musk-to-attend-xi-summit/)\.
Late Monday, Musk issued a statement on X, writing, “Regarding the OpenAI case, the judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality\. There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity\. The only question is WHEN they did it\!”
Musk reiterated his lawyer’s statement confirming he plans to appeal, writing, “I will be filing an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, because creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America\.”
*This story was updated to include Musk’s statement\.*
A federal jury ruled that Elon Musk filed his lawsuit against OpenAI too late, dismissing his claims that the company betrayed its nonprofit mission by becoming for-profit. The court found Musk missed the statute of limitations, ending a high-profile trial that revealed the bitter split between Musk and OpenAI's leadership.
Elon Musk lost his landmark lawsuit against OpenAI on statute of limitations grounds, as a federal jury and judge ruled his claims were filed too late. Musk plans to appeal.
Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI because the jury found his claims were barred by statutes of limitations; Musk argued that OpenAI's founders breached charitable trust by creating a for-profit subsidiary, but the court ruled he filed too late.
The jury in the Musk v. Altman trial unanimously dismissed all charges due to the statute of limitations, ruling against Elon Musk's claims that OpenAI breached its charitable trust and that Microsoft aided in the breach.
Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI was dismissed by a jury on statute of limitations grounds, finding that any harms occurred before the filing deadline. This removes a major threat to OpenAI ahead of its reported IPO.