Elon Musk has asked the court to unwind OpenAI's 2025 restructuring, remove CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman

Elon Musk has asked the court to unwind OpenAI’s 2025 restructuring, remove CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman, and award up to $134 billion in damages, as jurors begin deliberations Monday in a high‑stakes civil trial over whether donor funds were diverted. The advisory verdict the jury returns may be delivered as soon as next week, but it will be nonbinding; the presiding judge will make the final decision.

Attorneys for both sides ended closing arguments after a combative final week focused on the credibility and motives of Musk and Altman. The courtroom saw repeated attacks on each party’s honesty, and closing statements leaned heavily on imagery and metaphor to persuade jurors ahead of deliberations.

Altman testified at length about his past conduct and potential conflicts of interest, and several former OpenAI executives and board members — Ilya Sutskever, Mira Murati, Helen Toner, and Tasha McCauley — told jurors they were lied to. The trial revisited Altman’s brief firing in 2023 and probed his outside investments, including his roughly one‑third ownership of Helion Energy and alleged efforts to have OpenAI buy power from that company. OpenAI also highlighted a symbolic golden donkey trophy it says was given to an employee who resisted Musk’s AGI plans.

Musk’s lead lawyer, Steven Molo, argued that Altman and Brockman reneged on promises tied to Musk’s donations and transformed donor funds from structures meant to preserve a nonprofit mission into arrangements that enriched executives. Molo asked the court to undo the 2025 conversion of OpenAI’s for‑profit subsidiary into a public benefit corporation, to remove Altman and Brockman from their roles, and to award as much as $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft to OpenAI’s nonprofit.

OpenAI’s counsel, Sarah Eddy, countered that Altman and Brockman never promised to keep OpenAI in a nonprofit form and that the company remains committed to safe AI development despite the restructuring. Eddy also urged that Musk’s suit was filed too late and suggested the true motive was to damage a commercial rival, xAI, which Musk launched in 2023.

Closing statements featured pointed visuals: both sides displayed unflattering, mugshot‑style photographs of Musk and Altman on a giant screen, and Molo used a bridge metaphor to question Altman’s credibility. Altman appeared visibly tense when his name was mentioned in court. Eddy retorted that Musk “never cared about the nonprofit structure” and instead simply wanted to win.

If a judge ultimately rules for Musk, legal observers warn the decision could disrupt OpenAI’s plans as the company has been racing toward an initial public offering with reported valuations approaching $1 trillion. Separately, xAI is expected to go public as part of SpaceX as soon as June, with a reported target valuation of $1.75 trillion. The jury’s advisory verdict will be sent to the judge next week, who will decide whether to grant the remedies Musk seeks.