Musk loses lawsuit against Altman for OpenAI
The jury rejected Musk's lawsuit, pointing out that the action came too late
No dice, at least for now. Elon Musk has lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman over the future of OpenAI. A federal jury in Oakland, California, has unanimously ruled that the San Francisco-based company, which Musk and Altman co-founded a decade ago, is not liable to Mr. Tesla for straying from the organisation's original mission, which was founded with the stated goal of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of mankind.
After the advisory jury had found Altman and OpenAI not liable, the court, presided over by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, upheld the decision.
According to the verdict, Musk filed the lawsuit too late. Clearly, it is difficult to say now whether the richest man in the world will walk away from this battle. Judging by the energy he is putting into it, it seems impobable. And in the US federal system, the first option is an appeal. Musk, therefore, could ask the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision, arguing, for example, that the judge misinterpreted certain procedural or legal aspects, particularly the issue of the statute of limitations or the delay in filing the lawsuit.
However, it must be said that appellate courts do not remake the trial from scratch, and are unlikely to overturn a unanimous jury verdict unless concrete legal errors emerge.
Today's verdict, therefore, risks (for Musk) putting an end to a confrontation that had been going on for months and had taken on much more symbolic weight than a simple corporate dispute.
