A federal jury in Oakland, California, unanimously returned a defense verdict against Elon Musk on May 19, 2026, ending his lawsuit against OpenAI, Inc. and its chief executive Sam Altman [1]. Musk had sued alleging that OpenAI abandoned the nonprofit mission underlying its founding and that the organization's conversion toward a for-profit structure breached contractual and mission-based obligations he claimed were owed to him as an early backer [1]. The case proceeded to trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California following 11 days of testimony [1].
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding that all of Musk's claims were barred by the statute of limitations, resolving the dispute on procedural grounds without reaching the underlying merits of his breach-of-contract and nonprofit-mission arguments [1]. The verdict was unanimous [1]. By grounding its finding in limitations rather than liability, the jury's decision leaves open the broader legal question of whether OpenAI's structural evolution violated any enforceable obligation to its co-founders, a question that may surface in other pending proceedings related to the company's conversion.
Because the jury found for the defense on statute-of-limitations grounds, no damages were awarded and no compensatory or punitive assessment was before the panel [1]. The outcome imposes no monetary liability on OpenAI or Altman arising from this action.
Post-trial, the limitations ruling creates a narrow but potentially usable record for either side in future litigation. Musk's legal team may weigh whether any preserved issues support an appeal, while OpenAI can point to the unanimous verdict as a complete defense disposition. No immediate post-trial motions or appellate filings were reported at the time of the verdict [1].