Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman, OpenAI, and Microsoft after nine California jurors unanimously ruled his claims were filed too late. Musk had accused the defendants of "stealing a charity" by converting OpenAI into a for-profit entity, but the jury found his case ran afoul of the statute of limitations.

The trial turned on narrow legal questions rather than the messy history of OpenAI's founding. OpenAI's defense argued any harms Musk suffered occurred before the filing deadlines — ranging from August 5, 2021, to November 14, 2021, depending on the charge. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers told the courtroom she was prepared to dismiss the case on the spot given the evidence supporting that finding.

With the verdict, a potential restructuring threat to OpenAI ahead of its reported IPO is off the table. Musk's lead counsel Marc Toberoff offered only one word when reached for comment: "Appeal."