By Nick Robins-Early
Publication Date: 2026-05-18 17:37:00
A jury ruled in favor of Sam Altman It was the culmination of a long and bitter legal battle pitting the world’s richest person against a leader of the AI boom.
The federal jury in Oakland, California, found that Altman, OpenAI and its president Greg Brockman were not liable for Elon Musk’s claims that they unjustly enriched themselves and breached a charter agreement with Musk when he founded the startup.
The ruling, handed down after less than two hours of deliberations, is a sharp rebuke of Musk and his lawyer’s claims that Altman “stole from a charity” through his leadership of OpenAI. It also sets a clear path for the AI company to go public later this year at a valuation of about $1 trillion.
The jury’s verdict is a non-binding, advisory verdict, giving Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers the ultimate authority to make her own decision in the case. Gonzalez Rogers immediately said she agreed with the jury’s decision and dismissed Musk’s claims.
“I think there is a…
