Musk–Altman Trial Timeline: Elon Musk Drops Key Fraud Claims Against OpenAI Ahead of High-Stakes Trial

Elon Musk has dropped his fraud claims against OpenAI and its co-founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, narrowing the scope of his lawsuit against the Silicon Valley leaders just ahead of trial.

On April 24, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted Musk’s request to “streamline” the case, allowing only two of the 26 claims in his 2024 complaint to proceed to trial. Jury selection was expected to begin on April 27 in a California federal court.

“Part of this is about whether a jury believes the people who will testify and whether they are credible,” Gonzalez Rogers said during a court hearing earlier this year, explaining why she believed the case warranted a trial. According to American Bazaar Online, the judge will ultimately decide the case, while the jury will serve in an advisory role.

Two claims will proceed to trial.

Musk first sued OpenAI in February 2024. Although OpenAI repeatedly attempted to ch the lawsuit, the case is now headed to a jury trial.

Musk alleges that Altman, OpenAI, Brockman, and major partner Microsoft engaged in breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

He claims Altman violated the founding agreement of the nonprofit they helped establish by transitioning it into a for-profit entity. According to Musk, OpenAI secured billions in funding from Microsoft as part of this shift.

If successful in the $134 billion lawsuit, Musk has asked the court to direct any damages to OpenAI’s charitable arm. He is also seeking to restore the organization’s nonprofit status and remove Altman and Brockman from their leadership roles.

OpenAI has pushed back strongly, describing Musk’s proposed remedies as an “11th-hour” move and calling the lawsuit a “legal ambush” as trial approaches.

The company argues that Musk had agreed as early as 2017 that a for-profit transition would be necessary. It further claims his lawsuit is driven by “jealousy” and “regret” over stepping away.

OpenAI also disputes Musk’s financial claims, asserting that his contributions were tax-deductible donations to the nonprofit—not investments that grant ownership rights.

The trial is expected to unfold in two phases. In the first, a jury will hear arguments and testimony related to Musk’s claims and issue an advisory verdict.

That verdict will not be binding. Gonzalez Rogers will make the final determination on whether Musk has proven his case. The second phase will focus on potential remedies, with the judge issuing a final ruling.

OpenAI was founded in December 2015 as a nonprofit by Altman, Musk, and a group of AI researchers including Ilya Sutskever and others, with Altman and Musk serving as co-chairs.

Relations later deteriorated, leading Musk to exit the board in 2018. He went on to launch xAI in 2023, whose chatbot Grok has emerged as a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

In early 2025, a Musk-led consortium made a $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI’s nonprofit arm, an offer Altman quickly rejected.