Judge Dismisses Fraud Claims in Elon Musk's OpenAI Lawsuit; Case Advances to Trial with Two Remaining Allegations

Gate News message, April 24 — A federal judge has dismissed fraud claims from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Microsoft, clearing the way for the case to proceed to trial on two remaining allegations: breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued the ruling in Oakland, California. Jury selection begins Monday (April 28), with opening statements expected Tuesday (April 29).

Musk’s lawsuit originally contained 26 claims filed in November 2024; only four remained before Friday’s ruling. The remaining allegations center on Musk’s assertion that OpenAI violated its nonprofit mission when it established a for-profit subsidiary in 2019, after Musk had left the board. Musk is seeking $150 billion in damages, with funds intended for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm. He has also called for the removal of Altman and Brockman from their roles and a reversal of OpenAI’s profit-focused restructuring.

OpenAI, now valued at over $850 billion, has called the lawsuit “baseless” and described it as a “harassment campaign.” The timing is significant: OpenAI is exploring a potential public market debut in the fourth quarter, while Musk is preparing SpaceX for a record IPO. Additionally, xAI and X have filed separate antitrust lawsuits against OpenAI and Apple; a hearing in that case is scheduled for May in Texas. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 before launching xAI in 2023 as a competitor; xAI recently merged with SpaceX in a deal valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion.