Altman and Brockman were not present when the verdict came in, the NYT reported. However, there were “a few smiles from the OpenAI side of the room,” with OpenAI attorney William Savitt wearing “a wide grin,” the NYT reported. Savitt spent days grilling Musk on the stand, seemingly taking advantage of his prior experience as Musk’s lawyer to get under Musk’s skin.
In a statement, Microsoft celebrated the win, writing, “The facts and the timeline in this case have long been clear, and we welcome the jury’s decision to dismiss these claims as untimely. We remain committed to our work with OpenAI to advance and scale AI for people and organizations around the world.”
Musk did not return to the courtroom after delivering his testimony and was also not there when the verdict was read. Before the verdict arrived, Musk’s lawyer apologized after Musk shirked a court order requiring him to be available in case any further testimony was needed in the case. In an apparent sign that he was losing interest in the trial, Musk prioritized attending a summit between Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping.
Late Monday, Musk issued a statement on X, writing, “Regarding the OpenAI case, the judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality. 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!”
Musk reiterated his lawyer’s statement confirming he plans to appeal, writing, “I will be filing an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, because creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America.”
This story was updated to include Musk’s statement.
