A federal judge has set Elon Musk’s legal fight with OpenAI—and Microsoft’s role in the dispute—for a jury trial in late April, after rejecting requests to dismiss the case. The decision moves the high-profile dispute into an Oakland courtroom and keeps key questions alive about whether OpenAI stayed true to its original nonprofit commitments.
The case centers on Musk’s claims that OpenAI’s leadership abandoned the organization’s founding mission after taking billions from Microsoft and shifting toward a for-profit structure. OpenAI, for its part, has rejected Musk’s lawsuit and described it as “baseless” and “harassment,” saying it is an attempt to slow the company down.
Judge rejects dismissal requests
The judge declined to throw out Musk’s lawsuit after OpenAI and Microsoft sought to avoid a courtroom showdown. With the dismissal requests denied, the case is now headed to a jury trial scheduled for late April.
The ruling also means Microsoft will remain tied to the courtroom fight as the dispute unfolds. The trial is set to take place in Oakland, where the companies will face a jury’s review of the contested claims.
What Musk alleges
Musk and Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI, along with others, in 2015 as a nonprofit organization with stated charitable goals. Musk later left the organization and, in 2023, started his own AI company, xAI.
Musk now argues that his former partners betrayed OpenAI’s mission by accepting billions from Microsoft and restructuring OpenAI as a for-profit. The judge said there is enough evidence for a jury to decide whether OpenAI broke its nonprofit commitments.
Microsoft’s role in the case
The judge also found that a jury should decide whether Microsoft knowingly helped OpenAI break its promises. That keeps Microsoft in the case on allegations tied to OpenAI’s commitments and conduct.
At the same time, the judge dismissed Musk’s claim that Microsoft unjustly enriched itself at his expense. Even with that claim dropped, Microsoft is still positioned to defend itself at trial on other questions the jury will now consider.
Business ties and growing rivalry
OpenAI and Microsoft remain business partners, but they also increasingly compete head-to-head in the AI market, according to the report. The lawsuit adds legal pressure to a relationship that already includes both cooperation and competition.
The report describes the broader split between Musk and Altman as personal as well as professional, with the two moving from collaborators to adversaries. That rupture now appears set to play out in open court, with a jury weighing whether OpenAI’s evolution fits its original nonprofit promises.
