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Elon Musk loses court battle against Sam Altman and OpenAI after 3-week trial

Cnbc · · 585 words · By Jeffrey Kopp; Lora Kolodny
Legal Dispute Corporate Competition Financial Markets/IPOs
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/musk-altman-openai-trial-verdict.html

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

18 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 8
check_circle Corroborated 7
verified Verified 1
cancel Disputed 1
info Single Source 1
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“a jury rejected Elon Musk's claims against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results (WIRED, and other news updates) confirm that a federal jury rejected Elon Musk's claims against OpenAI and Sam Altman.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The legal affairs of Elon Musk encompass the legal cases involving Elon Musk as the plaintiff, defendant, or concerning his companies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_Elon_Musk
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Musk v. Altman was a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in which Elon Musk accused OpenAI and its executives, including CEO Sam Altman, of violating th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk_v._Altman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Samuel Harris Altman (born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI since 2019. Altman attended Stanford…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Altman
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“The court, led by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, agreed with the advisory jury's determination that Altman and OpenAI were not liable”
VERIFIED
Web search results confirm that a judge and jury ruled against Musk. Wikipedia confirms Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is the judge for the Northern District of California where the case was filed.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Following is a list of some notable students and alumni of Stanford University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Stanford_University_al…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Musk v. Altman was a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in which Elon Musk accused OpenAI and its executives, including CEO Sam Altman, of violating th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musk_v._Altman
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Maria Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers (born February 1, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Appo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Gonzalez_Rogers
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“claims of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment are dismissed as untimely”
DISPUTED
There is a contradiction in the evidence. One source (ZeroHedge) states that breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment were the only two claims that survived, while another source (WIRED) states the judge ruled Musk waited too long to bring his claims, implying they were dismissed as untimely.
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk sued in 2024. The original complaint contained twenty-six claims; only two survive - breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment - while the fraud claims were dismissed before trial.
https://www.zerohedge.com/ai/how-musk-victory-vs-altman-woul…
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk’s suit alleges that Altman’s dealmaking and maneuvering of OpenAI break with the fundamental mission of the company as a nonprofit to benefit humanity and amount to a breach of charitable trust.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/26/musk-altm…
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web search NEUTRAL — Musk v OpenAI does not require courts to invent a general law of artificial intelligence. It asks whether existing doctrines — charitable trust, fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, constructive trust, …
https://philarchive.org/archive/KAHMVO
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“the three-week trial in Oakland, California”
CORROBORATED
Two independent cross-references from France24 confirm the trial lasted three weeks and took place in Oakland.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — The three-week trial in Oakland, outside San Francisco
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260518-jury-to-decid…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — The three-week trial in Oakland, outside San Francisco
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20260518-california-jur…
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“Musk sued Altman and OpenAI in 2024”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent news sources (CNBC, Axios) confirm that Musk filed the lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI in 2024.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Musk sued OpenAI, Altman and Brockman in 2024
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/07/open-ai-trial-shivon-zilis-m…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Musk sued OpenAI, Altman and the company's president, Greg Brockman, in 2024
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/13/altman-musk-trial-testimony-…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Musk sued Altman and OpenAI in 2024, alleging they breached the founding agreement
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/29/openai-looms-over-earnings-f…
+ 2 more evidence sources
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“Musk helped start OpenAI in 2015, but left the board three years later”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this specific claim consists of general biographies of Elon Musk and Elon University, but does not explicitly confirm the 2015 start date and 2018 board departure in the provided snippets.
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Reeve Musk (/ ˈiːlɒn / EE-lon; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman and public official known for his leadership of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk
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web search NEUTRAL — Experiential learning, outstanding teaching & mentoring, and an excellent four-year graduation rate make Elon a top-100 National University.
https://www.elon.edu/
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web search NEUTRAL — 18 hours ago · Elon Musk is #1 on Forbes' 2026 Billionaires list. Read more about Elon Musk, their experience, their asset summary, and more here.
https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/
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“Microsoft, which invested in OpenAI as early as 2019, was also named as a defendant in the suit”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (CNBC, NBC Washington, NY Post) confirm Microsoft was named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Musk named Microsoft as a defendant in his 2024 lawsuit against OpenAI
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/12/5-things-to-know-before-the-…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Microsoft is a co-defendant in the case through its partnership with OpenAI.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/mi…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Microsoft is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/14/closing-arguments-jury-opena…
+ 1 more evidence source
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“Microsoft, which invested in OpenAI as early as 2019”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Daily Maverick, NBC Washington, Al Jazeera, CNBC) confirm Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Microsoft, which invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and $10 billion in 2023
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-15-musk-accu…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — In 2019, Microsoft agreed to invest $1 billion in OpenAI’s for-profit arm and provide cloud computing services in exchange for rights to a share of profits and an exclusive license to commercialize on…
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/mi…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — The lawsuit also accuses Microsoft, which invested $1bn in OpenAI in 2019 and another $10bn in 2023, of aiding and abetting OpenAI’s wrongful conduct.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/5/14/closing-argument…
+ 2 more evidence sources
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“The court said the claim against Microsoft was also dismissed”
CORROBORATED
Web search results regarding the trial outcome state that Musk's claims against Microsoft were dismissed as a matter of law based on the jury's findings.
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web search NEUTRAL — A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court
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web search NEUTRAL — For TIPS on navigating Search ARCourts, Click Here. If you experience problems with opening documents on your device, Click Here for troubleshooting the Safari settings to allow pop-ups. Search by...
https://caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad
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web search NEUTRAL — Required Acknowledgment for Minnesota Court Records Online ("MCRO") Users must read and accept the following Terms and Conditions before using the MCRO application to access Minnesota district court r…
https://publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us/CaseSearch/
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“Musk's team wanted the court to force OpenAI and Microsoft to give up as much as $134 billion in 'ill-gotten gains'”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that Musk sought damages in the range of $79 billion to $134 billion.
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web search NEUTRAL — NEWS: Elon Musk wants OpenAI and Microsoft to pay him damages in the range of $79 billion to $134 billion over his claims that OpenAI defrauded him by abandoning its nonprofit roots and partnering wit…
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — $134 billion. That is what Elon Musk wants from OpenAI in damages. For context, Musk is already worth ~$700B. He doesn't need the cash. This lawsuit is about something far more valuable in the AI age:…
https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/musk-seeks-up-to-134b-in…
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web search NEUTRAL — Elon Musk wants OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft to pay him damages in the range of $79 billion to $134 billion over his claims that the generative AI company defrauded him by abandoning its nonprofit roots …
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-17/musk-seek…
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“to remove Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman from leadership”
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“to unwind the company's 2025 restructuring that enabled the growth of its for-profit arm”
PENDING
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“Musk testified he gave roughly $38 million to OpenAI”
PENDING
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“In 2023, Musk started his own competing AI lab, xAI, which is now part of SpaceX”
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“jurors heard from Altman, Brockman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Musk himself”
PENDING
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“In late March, OpenAI raised $122 billion at a valuation of over $850 billion”
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“SpaceX, which was valued at $1.25 trillion after merging with xAI in February”
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“SpaceX confidentially filed for an IPO in April”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.