The high-stakes civil trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI has officially begun, with a nine-person jury seated at a federal courthouse in Oakland, California. Opening arguments are scheduled to be heard today in a case that could reshape the future of artificial intelligence, and upend the fortunes of two of the most valuable companies in the world.
The jury that 'doesn't like' Musk
Finding impartial jurors was always going to be the first hurdle. According to The Verge, most members of the jury pool expressed strong negative opinions about Musk during selection. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who is overseeing the proceedings, acknowledged the challenge plainly. "The reality is people don't like him," she said at one point, though she expressed confidence that the jurors selected would respect the judicial process and decide the case on its merits.
Musk's legal team had requested that jurors who described him in questionnaires as 'greedy, racist and homophobic' and a 'world-class jerk' be dismissed, but Rogers denied that request. The judge called a jury pool roughly three times larger than is typical for a civil case, reflecting the scale of public opinion the court had to navigate.
The jury's role is advisory, Judge Gonzalez Rogers will ultimately determine any remedies herself, with the jury deciding only on the question of liability.
What the OpenAI-Elon Musk case is about?
Musk co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015, contributing around $44 million in its early years, before leaving the company's board in 2018 after an acrimonious internal power struggle. He later founded his own AI company, xAI.
At the heart of Musk's lawsuit is OpenAI's evolution from a purely nonprofit venture, with a mission to develop AI for humanity's benefit, into an $852 billion commercial enterprise. Musk brings breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment claims, arguing that OpenAI has diverted from its original mission, and is seeking up to $150 billion in compensatory and punitive damages from OpenAI and co-defendant Microsoft.
Musk alleges he was 'assiduously manipulated' and 'deceived' by OpenAI, Altman, and co-founder Greg Brockman through promises to 'chart a safer, more open course than profit-driven tech giants.'
OpenAI has shown no signs of backing down. The company's official account posted Monday, "We can't wait to make our case in court where both the truth and the law are on our side. This lawsuit has always been a baseless and jealous bid to derail a competitor." OpenAI's position is that Musk himself pushed for a for-profit structure, that he left after failing to assume total control, and that the lawsuit is driven by jealousy and a desire to harm a rival.
The trial arrives at a fraught moment. Musk is preparing to take SpaceX public in what is expected to be a record IPO, while OpenAI is gearing up for its own public offering later this year. The two companies are valued at a combined $2 trillion on the private market. Witnesses expected to take the stand include Musk, Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
