Elon Musk stripped back his lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman on the eve of trial, dropping fraud allegations that had been central to his case and narrowing the dispute to two remaining claims, in the latest twist ahead of one of the most consequential technology trials in history.
United States District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved Musk’s request on Friday to streamline the case, allowing only unjust enrichment and breach of charitable trust to proceed when jury selection begins on Monday at the federal courthouse in Oakland, California. The move discards 24 of the 26 claims Musk originally filed in November 2024 and removes the direct fraud and constructive fraud allegations against Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman.
OpenAI characterised the last-minute narrowing as evasive, with lawyers arguing in a court filing that Musk was still refusing to state plainly what claims he would pursue even as trial approached.
The case, formally styled Musk v. Altman, case number 4:24-cv-04722 before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, is expected to run approximately four weeks. Musk is seeking up to $134 billion in damages, which he wants directed to OpenAI’s charitable arm rather than to himself, along with court orders removing Altman and Brockman from their roles and unwinding OpenAI’s for-profit conversion.
At the heart of what remains of the case is whether OpenAI’s founders misled Musk when they assured him that the organisation, which he co-founded in 2015 alongside Altman and others, would remain a nonprofit devoted to developing artificial intelligence (AI) for humanity’s benefit. Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018 and alleges the company subsequently pivoted toward commercial gain through a deep partnership with Microsoft, which now holds an estimated 27 percent equity stake in the business.
OpenAI is valued at over $850 billion following a restructuring that transformed it from a pure nonprofit into a nonprofit holding a controlling interest in a for-profit subsidiary. The company is targeting a potential initial public offering in the fourth quarter of 2026 in what could be one of the largest market debuts on record.
The trial will proceed in two phases. In the first, a jury will hear arguments and testimony on Musk’s two surviving claims. The jury’s verdict will be advisory rather than binding, with Judge Gonzalez Rogers retaining final authority over the outcome. The second phase will address remedies.
Both Musk and Altman are expected to testify, as are OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella. A handwritten 2017 diary entry by Brockman, which Judge Gonzalez Rogers has described as significant, is expected to feature as a key piece of evidence.
OpenAI has consistently described the lawsuit as a harassment campaign driven by ego and commercial rivalry, noting that Musk launched his own AI company, xAI, in 2023, which competes directly with OpenAI’s flagship product ChatGPT.
