- A US judge has criticized the basis of Elon Musk’s $134B damages claim against OpenAI.
- The lawsuit will still proceed to trial, keeping one of the AI sector’s most closely watched legal battles alive.
What Happened
A US federal judge has raised doubts about Elon Musk’s $134B damages claim in his lawsuit against OpenAI and its partner Microsoft. The case centres on Musk’s argument that the artificial intelligence company abandoned its original nonprofit mission and instead pursued commercial profits.
According to the report, the judge criticized the methodology used to calculate the massive damages figure presented by Musk’s legal team.
During court proceedings, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers suggested the valuation used to reach the $134B estimate appeared speculative. She reportedly described the figures as being based on “numbers out of the air”.
Despite those concerns, the judge declined to remove the damages testimony at this stage. Instead, the dispute will move forward to a jury trial scheduled for April, where both sides will have the opportunity to argue their case.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and invested around $38M during its early development, claims the company and its executives deviated from the original mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.
His lawsuit alleges that OpenAI’s transition toward a profit-driven structure and its multibillion-dollar partnership with Microsoft generated “wrongful gains.”
OpenAI has rejected the allegations, calling the lawsuit baseless and arguing that Musk voluntarily left the organization years before its commercial expansion.
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Why It’s Important
The dispute highlights growing tensions in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry. OpenAI’s transformation from a nonprofit research initiative into one of the world’s most valuable AI companies has raised questions about governance, investor influence, and the balance between public benefit and commercial incentives.
Legal experts say the outcome could shape how early founders and donors are treated when technology organizations evolve into profit-generating businesses.
At the same time, the judge’s skepticism about the damages calculation raises doubts about whether Musk’s claim can withstand detailed scrutiny during trial.
The case also underscores the broader competition unfolding in the AI sector. Musk now leads rival AI company xAI, which competes with OpenAI in developing large language models and other advanced systems.
For the wider technology industry, the lawsuit may become a test of how intellectual contributions, early funding, and founding principles translate into legal rights once a start-up becomes a global technology power.
