Elon Musk and Sam Altman are going to court over OpenAI’s future

April 27, 2026

```json { "title": "Musk vs. Altman Trial Begins: OpenAI's Future on the Line", "metaDescription": "Jury selection opened April 27, 2026 in Musk v. Altman, the landmark trial that could reshape OpenAI's corporate structure and derail its planned IPO.", "content": "<h2>Musk v. Altman Trial Kicks Off in Oakland as Nine Jurors Seated</h2>Jury selection began on April 27, 2026, in one of the most consequential tech trials in recent memory. Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are facing off in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland, in a case that could determine whether OpenAI is permitted to operate as a for-profit company — and potentially upend its highly anticipated initial public offering. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is presiding, and a nine-person jury was seated on the same day proceedings opened. Opening arguments are expected to begin Tuesday, April 28.The official case name is Musk v. Altman, 4:24-cv-04722, and both Musk and Altman are expected to take the stand. The trial is slated to last approximately four weeks, with jury deliberations expected to begin around May 12, 2026.<h2>What the Lawsuit Actually Claims — and What Survived to Trial</h2>Musk originally filed the lawsuit in August 2024, asserting 26 separate claims against Altman, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, and Microsoft, which is named as a co-defendant. The complaint accused Altman and Brockman of double-crossing Musk by steering OpenAI away from its founding mission to be an altruistic steward of AI technology. Microsoft is accused of aiding and abetting OpenAI's alleged breach of charitable trust.Of those original 26 claims, only two remain heading into trial: unjust enrichment and breach of charitable trust. Musk's legal team dismissed fraud and constructive fraud claims ahead of trial, stating they did so to streamline the case.Musk is seeking as much as $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft. In a notable wrinkle, he has asked that any damages awarded be directed to OpenAI's charitable arm rather than to himself personally.The court has already found, as a matter of established fact, that in 2017 Altman and Brockman wanted to establish a for-profit arm of the company, while Musk at the time proposed merging OpenAI with Tesla. When Musk threatened to stop funding the organization, Altman and Brockman told him they were committed to keeping OpenAI a nonprofit — a representation that sits at the center of the current dispute.Musk's lawyers have not been restrained in their language. In a court filing, they wrote: "The perfidy and deceit are of Shakespearean proportions."OpenAI, for its part, has called the case "a baseless and jealous bid to derail a competitor," in an official statement posted to the company's X account.<h2>The Evidence, the Witnesses, and What $134 Billion Looks Like</h2>The witness list underscores just how much is at stake across the broader tech industry. In addition to Musk and Altman, Greg Brockman is expected to testify, as are Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, and Microsoft CFO Amy Hood. Judge Gonzalez Rogers has allotted Musk and OpenAI 22 hours each to present their cases, with Microsoft receiving five hours.Among the evidence entered into the record is a February 2023 email from Altman to Musk in which the OpenAI CEO wrote: "I am tremendously thankful for everything you've done to help — I don't think OpenAI would have happened without you — and it really (expletive) hurts when you publicly attack OpenAI."The financial stakes are staggering on all sides. OpenAI, according to its own court documents, has nearly 1 billion weekly active users and is valued at $852 billion. The company recently closed a $122 billion funding round and is planning an IPO potentially later in 2026. Meanwhile, Musk is simultaneously preparing to take SpaceX public in what is expected to be a record-setting offering. Combined, the two companies — SpaceX/xAI and OpenAI — are valued at over $2 trillion on the private market.Court documents also show that Musk was the biggest individual financial backer of OpenAI in its early days, contributing more than $44 million to the startup. Separately, records indicate he invested approximately $38 million between December 2015 and May 2017.The adversarial dynamic between the two founders escalated sharply in February 2025, when Musk offered to acquire the assets of OpenAI's nonprofit for $97.4 billion — an offer OpenAI rejected. Altman publicly countered that he would instead buy X, formerly Twitter, for $9.74 billion.<h2>OpenAI's Corporate Restructuring: The For-Profit Pivot at the Heart of the Dispute</h2>OpenAI was established in 2015 by Musk, Altman, Brockman, and others as a charity aimed at creating AI "to benefit humanity," explicitly free from shareholder pressures. Musk left the company's board in 2018; OpenAI cited potential future conflicts with Tesla at the time.In October 2025, OpenAI completed a full restructuring into a public benefit corporation (PBC). The attorneys general of California and Delaware approved the new corporate structure under a series of conditions, including a requirement that a safety and security committee at the nonprofit would review safety-related decisions made by the for-profit subsidiary. Under the terms of the restructuring, Microsoft received a 27% stake in the new PBC, while OpenAI's nonprofit arm — now called the OpenAI Foundation — received a stake valued at $130 billion.California's attorney general has declined to join Musk's lawsuit, stating that the office did not see how his action serves the public interest. Nonetheless, Judge Gonzalez Rogers accelerated key issues to trial, citing an important public interest in their swift resolution.On whether Musk's case has merit beyond the restructuring already approved by regulators, Rose Chan Loui, director of the UCLA School of Law's philanthropy and nonprofit program, said: "Elon Musk should have to show … what the deficiencies are in what's been agreed to by OpenAI with the attorneys general."<h2>Expert Reactions: A "Tech Soap Opera" With Trillion-Dollar Consequences</h2>Observers watching the trial have not been short of colorful assessments. Casey Newton, tech journalist and founder of the Platformer newsletter, described the proceedings plainly: "This is a clash of two enormous personalities in Elon Musk and Sam Altman."Newton also offered a pointed read on Musk's strategic intent: "My understanding is that the thrust of it is to try to stop OpenAI in its tracks. Prevent them from developing future models and essentially knock one player out of the AI race."Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush, captured the broader market sentiment: "This is a tech soap opera that all investors will be watching as Musk vs Altman enters the MMA ring."Musk himself posted on X: "Scam Altman and Greg Stockman stole a charity. Full stop."<h2>What Comes Next: IPOs, Deliberations, and an Industry Watching Closely</h2>The trial is structured in two phases: liability first, followed by a separate remedies phase if Musk prevails on either remaining claim. Jury deliberations are expected to begin by May 12, 2026.The outcome carries direct implications for OpenAI's planned IPO, which is expected later in 2026. A ruling against OpenAI could complicate or delay that offering, cloud Microsoft's 27% stake in the PBC, and potentially force further restructuring of the company's governance. Conversely, a verdict in OpenAI's favor would likely clear a significant legal overhang ahead of what would be one of the largest technology public offerings in history.What is not in dispute is that the trial arrives at an inflection point for the entire AI industry. OpenAI's nearly 1 billion weekly active users and $852 billion valuation — figures from the company's own court documents — make any ruling about its corporate structure a matter of broad economic consequence, not just a dispute between two Silicon Valley founders.The proceedings in Oakland will be closely watched by investors, regulators, and technologists for the duration of the four-week trial. Both Musk and Altman are expected to testify in person.For more tech news, visit our <a href=\"/news\">news section</a>.", "excerpt": "Jury selection opened on April 27, 2026, in Musk v. Altman at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland, as Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman prepare for a landmark trial over whether OpenAI can legally operate as a for-profit company. With $134 billion in sought damages, nearly 1 billion weekly active users, and a planned OpenAI IPO hanging in the balance, the four-week trial could reshape the AI industry. Opening arguments are expected to begin April 28, with a nine-person jury already seated.", "keywords": ["Musk v. Altman trial", "OpenAI lawsuit", "OpenAI IPO", "Sam Altman Elon Musk court", "OpenAI for-profit restructuring"], "slug": "musk-vs-altman-trial-openai-future-2026" } ```

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