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That was quick. After less than two hours of deliberations, a jury handed Sam Altman a decisive victory over Elon Musk—and cleared the way for OpenAI’s massive IPO later this year.
The nine-person jury found that Musk filed his lawsuit in 2024 but knew about the alleged misconduct back in 2021, meaning he blew past the three-year statute of limitations. Musk accused Sam Altman and OpenAI of violating the company’s founding mission as a charitable organization by converting it into a for-profit operation. He sought $150 billion in damages.
The three-week trial turned ugly. Musk openly clashed with OpenAI’s lawyer and accused him of lying, while Musk’s attorney grilled Sam Altman about accusations from former board members alleging dishonesty and poor management.
Despite the bad blood, the verdict frees Altman to pursue what could be one of the largest IPOs in history. OpenAI raised $122 billion in March at an $850 billion valuation, and the company now faces no legal obstacles to its public debut. For Musk, who launched rival AI lab xAI in 2023, the loss represents a costly strategic miscalculation—waiting three years to challenge a deal he claims violated OpenAI’s founding mission.