Musk vs. OpenAI: $134B Lawsuit or Just a Billionaire’s Tantrum?

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Ladies and gentlemen, the courtroom drama of the century has begun! On April 28, the Musk vs. OpenAI trial kicked off in Oakland, with Elon Musk’s lawyer, Steven Molo, claiming that without Musk’s $38 million and his genius recruiting skills, OpenAI would be nothing but a pipe dream. Oh, and did I mention Musk wants a cool $134 billion funneled back to the nonprofit arm? Because, you know, why not?

  • The trial started with Molo begging jurors to forget everything they think they know about Musk (good luck with that) and focus on the cold, hard cash-er, I mean, the financial records of OpenAI’s founding.
  • Only two claims made the cut: breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment. The jury’s verdict? Just a suggestion. Judge Gonzalez Rogers gets the final say. Democracy in action, folks!
  • The liability phase runs until May 21, with jury deliberations starting around May 12. Each side gets 22 hours to plead their case. Tick-tock, tick-tock!

CNBC reports that Musk, Altman, and Brockman all showed up in suits (no capes, sadly) at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building. Molo told the nine-person jury, “Without Elon Musk, OpenAI would be a footnote in history. Pure and simple.” He also reminded jurors that not everyone’s opinion is good-or bad. Just… there. Meanwhile, crypto.news revealed that it took five hours to find jurors who didn’t openly despise Musk. Judge Gonzalez Rogers admitted, “People don’t like him,” but hey, the show must go on!

The $852 Billion Question: Who Owns the Future of AI?

The trial boils down to two claims: breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment. Musk originally filed 26 claims in August 2024, but after some legal juggling, only these two survived. Musk isn’t asking for a dime for himself-he wants the money to go back to OpenAI’s nonprofit arm. Because, you know, philanthropy! The $134 billion figure? Just the alleged “wrongful gains” by OpenAI and Microsoft. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit to save humanity with AI. He left in 2018 over a control dispute (surprise, surprise) and sued in 2023. OpenAI restructured in 2025 as a public benefit corporation, but Musk says they buried their charitable mission. Meanwhile, Musk’s xAI merged with SpaceX in 2026, valued at $250 billion. He’s now strong-arming Wall Street banks into buying subscriptions to Grok, his AI chatbot. OpenAI calls it a commercial grudge match. We call it entertainment!

Trial Timeline: When Will the Drama End?

Judge Gonzalez Rogers split the case into liability and remedies phases. Each side gets 22 hours to present their case, plus five hours for Microsoft’s defense. The liability phase ends around May 21, with jury deliberations starting May 12. If Musk wins, the case moves to the remedies phase, where Judge Rogers decides the punishment. Musk wants Altman and Brockman out, the 2025 restructuring undone, and profits redirected to the nonprofit. OpenAI says the lawsuit could derail their $1 trillion IPO. Because nothing says “charity” like a trillion-dollar valuation!

OpenAI’s Counterattack: Musk’s Own Goals

OpenAI’s legal team is ready to throw Musk under the bus, claiming he supported the for-profit conversion before leaving the board and tried to merge OpenAI with Tesla. They say the lawsuit is just Musk trying to crush a competitor to xAI. Meanwhile, OpenAI faces a criminal investigation in Florida over ChatGPT’s alleged role in a shooting. Because why have one legal battle when you can have two? Wedbush analyst Dan Ives predicts “scrapes and bruises” but warns, “Never bet against Elon.” Wise words, Dan. Wise words.

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2026-04-28 22:08