Quick overview

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Elon Musk narrowed the scope of his lawsuit against his business rivals by dropping his fraud claims against OpenAI and co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Only two of the 26 claims in Musk’s November 2024 complaint will go to trial after US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted his request to “streamline” the case on Friday.

In federal court in Oakland, California, jury selection is scheduled for Monday.  Musk claims that after receiving billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft, the artificial intelligence startup abandoned its original goal of serving humanity as a nonprofit. and intended to reorganize it as a for-profit company

If he prevails in court, Musk wants up to $134 billion in damages, which he has requested be given to OpenAI’s charitable division. In addition, he wants a judge to order Altman and Brockman to resign from their positions and to restore the firm’s status as a nonprofit research organization.

OpenAI accused the richest person of a “legal ambush” and complained to the judge that Musk’s proposed remedies were an 11th-hour surprise. OpenAI, Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft have all refuted any misconduct, calling Musk’s allegations harassment. There will be two stages to the trial.

A jury will hear arguments and testimony regarding Musk’s accusations, which now center on two claims: breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment.

Gonzalez Rogers, who will ultimately determine whether Musk has proven his claims, will not be bound by the panel’s “advisory verdict.”. Gonzalez Rogers will hear arguments regarding the remedies Musk is requesting and render a decision during the second phase of the proceedings.

Along with Altman and others, Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015. However, in recent years, the former business partners have turned into fierce rivals. After leaving the OpenAI board in 2018, Musk co-founded the company in 2023.