Elon Musk dropped his fraud claims against OpenAI and its co-founders, but a US judge plans to proceed to trial on other claims.
On April 24th, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers agreed to dismiss Musk’s fraud and constructive fraud claims in a bid to streamline the case.
This would leave just two claims to proceed to trial of the 26 originally included in his November 2024 complaint, specifically, unjust enrichment and breach of charitable trust.
According to Musk, this would allow jurors to focus on his goal of ensuring that OpenAI benefits humanity rather than serving as a “wealth machine.”
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday, with opening arguments to follow on Tuesday.
Musk is seeking between $79 billion and $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and one of its largest investors, Microsoft, claiming that it abandoned its original plans of operating as a non-profit organization and misled both him and the public.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with CEO Sam Altman and others in 2015, left the board in 2018 and later co-founded one of its main rivals, xAI. Ever since, the relationship between the former co-founders has been rocky, with Musk publicly going after Altman on X: “You stole a non-profit.”
In addition to monetary damages, Musk is seeking a court order to restore the firm’s status as a non-profit research organisation and to remove Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman from their roles.
The company and its leaders have all denied wrongdoing, with OpenAI claiming that the lawsuit is “part of [Musk’s] ongoing pattern of harassment.” The company also said that Musk is trying to slow them down and benefit his own business, xAI.
Proceeds from any damages would go to OpenAI’s charitable arm, according to a person involved in the case.
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In February last year, OpenAI rejected a $97.4 billion bid from Musk, saying: "OpenAI is not for sale.”
Reuters reported that the company is preparing for an IPO that could value it at up to $1 trillion.
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