Jury Finds Musk’s OpenAI Claims Time-Barred

On May 18, 2026, an advisory jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found that Elon Musk’s breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment claims against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman were time-barred. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, donated tens of millions of dollars and left the board in 2018. He filed the lawsuit in 2024.

Musk’s complaint said OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure and its funding arrangement with Microsoft violated promises made to early donors. The advisory jury concluded those organizational changes were publicly known years before the 2024 filing and that the statute of limitations bars the claims.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is expected to adopt the advisory jury’s finding, which would end the liability phase and remove the remedies Musk sought. In his complaint Musk sought between $130 billion and $150 billion, requested Sam Altman’s removal from leadership and asked for a structural reversal of OpenAI’s business setup. Musk’s legal team has indicated it will appeal; the court is expected to issue a final judgment soon.

Markets showed limited immediate disruption after the verdict. Major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and several altcoins, traded without large swings. Tesla shares experienced modest intraday pressure. xAI continues to operate as a separate competitor in the AI sector.

The verdict narrows legal options for donors who challenge nonprofit-to-profit transitions years after organizational changes. OpenAI, which recent estimates have valued near $850 billion and which maintains a funding and partnership relationship with Microsoft, faces fewer immediate legal obstacles to pursuing an initial public offering or further commercial expansion.

Neither OpenAI nor Musk had issued public statements at the time of the verdict. The next steps include the district judge’s formal decision on the advisory finding and any appeals from Musk’s team.