Jury selection begins soon in Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman, which centers on whether OpenAI defrauded Musk when transitioning from a nonprofit to a for-profit business. The case traces back to 2015 when Altman emailed Musk proposing an AI research project. They co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit committed to benefiting humanity, with Musk contributing approximately $38 million before leaving the board in 2018.

OpenAI created a for-profit arm in 2019 with a capped-profit structure, but after ChatGPT's success, the company reorganized in 2024 with Microsoft's support. The for-profit is now a public benefit corporation, while the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation holds equity valued at $130 billion. Musk argues the founders, including Altman and Greg Brockman, defrauded him as a donor when they abandoned the nonprofit mission.

Musk seeks $65.5-109.43 billion in damages and wants Altman and Brockman removed from their positions. Professor Michael Dorff believes Musk won't succeed in undoing the reorganization, as state attorneys general already approved the compromise. The case could establish precedents for future lawsuits against AI companies that transition from nonprofit to for-profit models.