Elon Musk's legal battle with OpenAI over profit shift set for 2026 trial | CliqExplainer

Billionaire Elon Musk’s courtroom clash with OpenAI is officially headed to a jury trial in spring 2026, marking the next chapter in an ongoing feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The dispute centers on Elon Musk’s claims that OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015, has abandoned its original nonprofit mission in favor of profit-making — a shift he argues betrays the company’s founding principles and public commitments.

Dispute Over For-Profit Transition

The lawsuit, filed by Elon Musk last year, accuses OpenAI and Sam Altman of prioritizing corporate gain over the initial goal of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. The federal judge overseeing the case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, rejected Elon Musk’s request to pause OpenAI’s transition into a for-profit entity but agreed to fast-track the legal proceedings. The trial date has now been set for spring 2026, when a jury will weigh in on the issue.

OpenAI, which is behind the popular ChatGPT chatbot, has defended its decision to adopt a capped-profit model, arguing that raising large sums of capital is necessary to remain competitive in the increasingly expensive and fast-paced AI landscape. According to court filings, OpenAI is in the midst of securing a funding round of up to $40 billion, with $10 billion already promised by Japanese investment giant SoftBank and an additional $30 billion contingent on the company completing its transition by the end of the year.

Tensions between Elon Musk and Sam Altman have grown more public in recent years. Elon Musk, who stepped away from OpenAI before its major breakthroughs, later founded his own AI firm, xAI, in 2023. His latest venture acquired social media platform X (formerly Twitter), a move that allows xAI to share value with X’s co-investors and strengthens his position in the AI sector.

In a dramatic twist earlier this year, Elon Musk reportedly led a consortium that offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion — an offer Sam Altman declined with a simple “no thank you.” OpenAI and Sam Altman have denied all of Elon Musk’s allegations, asserting that the company has remained true to its broader mission while adapting to the financial realities of AI development. Sam Altman has, in turn, suggested that Musk’s legal actions are driven by competitive motives rather than genuine concern for the public good.

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