【AI前沿】All of the updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s battle over OpenAI

TechUpdatedMay 18, 2026, 7:00 PM UTCAll of the updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s battle over OpenAIbyElizabeth LopattoandHayden FieldLinkShareRSSGiftSam Altman and Elon Musk are facing off in a high-stakes trial that could alter the future of OpenAI and its most well-known product,ChatGPT. In2024, Musk filed a lawsuitaccusing OpenAI of abandoning its founding mission of developing AI to benefit humanity and shifting focus to boosting profits instead.After nearly a month of the hearing that featured testimony from Musk, Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman, former OpenAI board member and mother of several of Musk’s children Shivon Zilis, and a few others, the jury deliberated for a couple of hours before returning with a verdict,deciding to dismiss all chargesdue to the statute of limitations.Musk was a cofounder of OpenAI and claims that Altman and Brockman tricked him into giving the company money, only to turn their backs on their original goal. However,OpenAI claimedthat “This lawsuit has always been a baseless and jealous bid to derail a competitor” in a bid to boost Musk’s own SpaceX / xAI / X companies that have launched Grok as a competitor to ChatGPT.In his lawsuit,Musk asked for the removal of Altman and Brockman, and for OpenAI to stop operating as a public benefit corporation.People to KnowPlaintiffElon Musk— plaintiff, OpenAI cofounder and now CEO of rival xAISteven Molo— lead counsel for the plaintiffJared Birchall— manager of Musk’s family officeShivon Zilis— former OpenAI board member who shares multiple children with MuskDefendantSam Altman— defendant, CEO of OpenAIWilliam Savitt— lead counsel for the defendantGreg Brockman— president of OpenAI as well as a cofounderIlya Sutskever— former chief scientist at OpenAI and a cofounderJudgeYvonne Gonzalez Rogers— aka YGR, trial judgeHere’s all the latest on the trial between Musk and Altman:HighlightsElon Musk loses his case against Sam AltmanMicrosoft doesn’t want any of thisSam Altman was winning on the stand, but it might not be enoughMusk’s biggest loyalist became his biggest liabilityMira Murati tells the court that she couldn’t trust Sam Altman’s wordsGoogle’s AI architect lived rent-free in Elon Musk’s headOpenAI’s president does ‘all the things,’ except answer a questionElon Musk’s worst enemy in court is Elon MuskElon Musk appeared more petty than preparedMusk vs. Altman is here, and it’s going to get messyPinnedMay 18Hayden FieldElon Musk loses his case against Sam AltmanImage: Alex Parkin / The VergeAfter around two hours of deliberation, the jury has reached a unanimous verdict inMusk v. Altman, the tech trial of the year. The group found that two claims were barred by the statute of limitations, and a third failed thanks to the dismissal of one of these.The jury here is an advisory jury, meaning the group is installed solely to offer another opinion to the judge, and its verdict is technically not legally binding. Ultimately, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is the ultimate legal authority — and she accepted the decision.Read Article >May 18Hayden FieldMusk v. Altman proved that AI is led by the wrong peopleImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesThe tech trial of the year,Musk v. Altman, was ultimately a fight for control. Elon Musk argued that Sam Altman, with whom he helped found the now-massive company OpenAI, shouldn’t direct the future of AI. Altman’s lawyers, in turn, poked at Musk’s own credibility. A jury came to averdicton Monday after just two hours of deliberation, dismissing Musk’s claims due to the statute of limitations.In a strictly legal sense, three weeks of testimony added up to nothing. But the trial offered a more damning broader takeaway: Almostnobody in this saga seems worth trusting. Some of the most powerful people in tech seem temperamentally incapable of dealing with each other honestly. And if that’s true, it raises a bigger question: Why are they in control of atrillion-dollarindustry that’s set to upend people’s lives?Read Article >May 18Richard LawlerThe jury has delivered a unanimous verdict.That was quick (about two hours).Elon Musk lost his case against Sam AltmanHayden FieldMay 18May 18Elizabeth LopattoAn observer has just been ejected from the court by the US marshals.I assume because he was recording, since the marshal said, “Give me your phone.” There have been several incidents of people attempting to record or take pictures throughoutthe trial— but I honestly am not sure why you’d record today of all days.May 18Elizabeth LopattoC. Paul Wazzan is the expert called by Musk to determine damages.Unfortunately he does not have a lot of details YGR is asking for. He doesn’t know how many investments Musk has made (11 to date, according to Pitchbook), or how many were successful. He’s getting some pretty tough questioning from YGR in the direct exam. Among the things she’d asked, he didn’t know how many startups fail in Silicon Valley, or the success r