Story perspectives

Elon Musk sues OpenAI for $150B over charter breach

4/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

A federal civil trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI started in Oakland, California, with a nine-person advisory jury.
Musk claims OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit charter, became for-profit, and seeks over $150 billion, the ouster of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, and an injunction to restore the charter.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will decide any remedy herself and has ordered all parties, including the billionaires, to use the main courthouse entrance.

History

Historical Context

In 2015 Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman founded OpenAI as a nonprofit dedicated to open-source AI safety. After Microsoft’s $1 billion investment in 2019 the lab adopted a for-profit structure, prompting Musk’s 2024 federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California, heard by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The case could force a return to the original nonprofit charter, reshaping AI governance.

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Story summary

A federal civil trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI started in Oakland, California, with a nine-person advisory jury.
Musk claims OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit charter, became for-profit, and seeks over $150 billion, the ouster of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, and an injunction to restore the charter.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will decide any remedy herself and has ordered all parties, including the billionaires, to use the main courthouse entrance.

1 / 2