Musk v. Altman goes to trial in Oakland
April 27, 2026 - 11:49 am
A four-week federal case over OpenAI’s future, a diary entry, $150 billion in claimed damages, and the question of whether a nonprofit can become the world’s most valuable AI company. The years-long legal battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman over OpenAI moved from social media to a federal courtroom in Oakland, California on Monday, as jury selection began in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Opening arguments are expected on Tuesday.
The trial, presided over by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, is scheduled to run for four weeks, through mid-May, with court held Monday through Thursday. The jury’s verdict will be advisory; the ultimate decision on liability and any remedies rests with Judge Gonzalez Rogers herself.
The case centers on Musk’s claim that he co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Altman, Greg Brockman, and others with the explicit understanding it would remain a nonprofit dedicated to developing artificial general intelligence for humanity. Musk alleges Altman and Brockman deceived him when they converted OpenAI into a for-profit structure in 2019, thirteen months after Musk left the OpenAI board.
Musk’s lawsuit, filed in August 2024, alleges breach of charitable trust, fraud, and that Microsoft aided and abetted the breach. He seeks $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, with proceeds directed to OpenAI’s charitable arm; he also seeks Altman’s removal from both the for-profit entity and the nonprofit board, and an order requiring OpenAI to revert to nonprofit status.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers accelerated the core claims to trial because she concluded there is an important public interest in their swift resolution.
OpenAI counters that Musk was not deceived about the for-profit transition, but actively involved in discussions about it. They argue Musk wanted OpenAI merged with Tesla and led the combined entity himself. When Altman and Brockman declined, OpenAI contends Musk chose to leave and launch his own AI lab.
A key document is a diary entry by Brockman from autumn 2017: "This is the only chance we have to get out from Elon. Is he the ‘glorious leader’ that I would pick?" That entry will be central to both sides' arguments: for Musk, it evidences a conspiracy to exclude him; for OpenAI, it shows legitimate concerns about Musk's ambitions for control.
The witness list includes AI era luminaries. Both Musk and Altman are expected to testify in person. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is also expected to appear, as is Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member who is also the mother of four of Musk’s children. OpenAI’s lawyers have indicated they will argue Zilis funnelled information about OpenAI to Musk while he was no longer on the board.