Elon Musk spoke with Forbes for the first time after a federal jury rejected his lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman [1].
The verdict marks a significant legal defeat for Musk, who had challenged the leadership and direction of the artificial intelligence company. The outcome limits Musk's ability to legally compel OpenAI to return to its original non-profit mission through this specific litigation.
A jury sitting in Oakland, California, issued the verdict on May 18, 2026 [1, 3]. The court dismissed the claims primarily because the statute of limitations had expired [2]. This legal defense meant that Musk waited too long to file his specific grievances, rendering the claims ineligible for a judgment on the merits of the case.
In the interview with Forbes reporter Randall Lane, Musk addressed the implications of the ruling. The legal battle had centered on the transition of OpenAI from a non-profit entity to a capped-profit structure, a move Musk had long criticized as a betrayal of the company's founding principles.
While the jury's decision ends this particular legal avenue, the tension between Musk and Altman remains a focal point of the AI industry. The ruling ensures that OpenAI can continue its current operational model without the immediate threat of a court-ordered restructuring based on these claims [1, 2].
“A federal jury rejected his lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman”
This verdict reinforces the legal protections afforded to OpenAI by the statute of limitations, effectively closing a major legal door for Musk to challenge the company's corporate structure. It signals that timing is as critical as the substance of a claim in high-stakes corporate litigation, leaving Musk to pursue his ideological opposition to OpenAI through competition or different legal strategies.
