On Monday, Elon Musk said he would appeal a California jury verdict that dismissed his lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), accusing the ChatGPT-maker of creating a precedent that could allow nonprofits to be exploited for private gain.
Elon Musk Vows Appeal After OpenAI Court Loss
In a post on X, Musk argued that the court never ruled on the substance of his allegations against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman.
“Regarding the OpenAI case, the judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality,” Musk wrote.
He added that he “will be filing an appeal” to the Ninth Circuit because “creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America.”
“There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it,” he wrote.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
Notably, Musk’s lawyer, Steven Molo, preserved the tech mogul’s right to appeal directly before the judge, who responded skeptically and said she was ready to reject the appeal “on the spot.”
OpenAI And Microsoft Defend The Verdict
Musk’s comments came after a federal jury in Oakland determined that he filed his claims too late under California’s three-year statute of limitations.
District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers adopted the jury’s advisory verdict after less than two hours of deliberation.
Musk sued OpenAI in 2024, alleging the company abandoned its founding nonprofit mission in favor of profit-driven growth tied to Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar investment.
He sought up to $180 billion in damages and wanted Altman and Brockman removed from leadership.
OpenAI denied wrongdoing, arguing Musk’s donations carried no restrictions and that restructuring was necessary to compete in the costly artificial intelligence race against rivals like Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google DeepMind.
Musk also launched rival AI startup xAI in 2023.
Price Action: MSFT shares closed Monday at $423.54, up 0.38% and slipped 0.08% to $423.20 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, MSFT ranks in the 93rd percentile for Quality, with the stock showing a strong positive price trend over the short and medium term, though its long-term trend remains negative.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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