Archive · 14 Jan 2026
Elon Musk Sues OpenAI Over Nonprofit Claims
Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman and Microsoft.
He says OpenAI, which he helped start, was supposed to be nonprofit and share AI for free.
But he thinks they changed their mind and made it for profit instead.
Musk gave them money when they started in 2015.
He left in 2018.
Now there's a trial to decide if they broke their promise.
Microsoft is now the biggest owner of OpenAI.
The trial will be in California on April 27.
Musk says Altman tricked him by saying OpenAI would be nonprofit.
Elon Musk sues OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft over alleged abandonment of nonprofit mission
Trial begins April 27 in Oakland, California, before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
Musk claims OpenAI misled him about its nonprofit, public-benefit mission
OpenAI restructured to include for-profit affiliates and struck multibillion-dollar deals
Musk was an original co-founder and major funder of OpenAI (2015-2018)
- Who
- Elon Musk vs. Sam Altman and Microsoft
- What
- Lawsuit over alleged abandonment of OpenAI's nonprofit mission
- When
- Trial begins April 27
- Where
- Oakland, California
- Why
- Musk claims deception and violation of original mission
- Plaintiff
- Elon Musk
- Defendants
- Sam Altman, Microsoft
- Trial Date
- April 27
- Judge
- Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
- Court Location
- Oakland, California
- Original OpenAI Mission
- Nonprofit, public-benefit, open-source AI
- Musk's Involvement
- Co-founder, major funder (2015-2018)
- Microsoft's Role
- Major investor, biggest shareholder