The judge described Musk’s $134 million lawsuit against OpenAI as “a throwaway” and said the case would be decided by a jury.
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Brief Summary of the Legal Proceedings in the Elon Musk vs. OpenAI Case
| Stage | What Happened | Current Demand |
|---|---|---|
| In January, Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft for between $79 billion and $134 billion, claiming that the startup abandoned its original intention to create artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity and terminated its partnership with a major technology company. | Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers described the damage estimate as “pulled out of the air,” but did not dismiss the claim outright, instead offering jurors the opportunity to consider the issue independently. | Musk’s attorneys on Friday tried to persuade the judge to reject his monetary claims. The judge agreed to give jurors a chance to assess Musk’s arguments but expressed doubt about the accuracy of the estimate and stated that “Musk’s expert simply pulled those numbers out of the air.” |
| OpenAI’s Allegations | OpenAI requested the exclusion of expert testimony from Paul Wazzan. The judge denied the motion, deeming it “inappropriate” and suggested that jurors hear the evidence instead. | If the court fully satisfies the claim, Microsoft would pay Musk $25 billion, and OpenAI would pay $109 billion. The judge noted that agreeing to the expert exclusion motion would result in dismissal of the case due to lack of proof of damage. |
| Expert Calculations | Paul Wazzan, a venture investor and economist at Berkley Research Group, estimated Musk’s contribution at $38 billion, accounting for 50%–75% of the capitalization of OpenAI’s non‑profit arm. The commercial portion is valued at $730 billion. | |
| History of Relations | Musk helped found OpenAI in 2015 but left its board in 2018 due to conflicts with Sam Altman. In 2023, he founded the competing AI startup xAI, which later merged with social network X and aerospace company SpaceX. | |
| OpenAI’s Position | The company claims that Musk’s lawsuit is driven by commercial interests and is part of a “harassment campaign” against the startup. They question the precision of the damage calculation methodology and the absence of a clear formula. | |
| Next Hearing | The upcoming court session is scheduled for April 28 this year. Musk’s representatives will try to convince jurors that OpenAI (particularly Sam Altman) breached the contract and deceived Elon. The judge noted the difficulty in selecting an appropriate jury due to the high social status of the parties involved. |
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