Elon Musk said on X that if he wins his lawsuit against OpenAI, any recovery would be donated to charity and he would not personally profit from the case. The statement came on March 16, about six weeks before the case is scheduled to go before a jury on April 28.
At the center of the dispute is Musk’s claim that OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and partner Microsoft abandoned the organization’s original nonprofit mission and shifted it toward a profit-driven structure for commercial gain. Musk was one of OpenAI’s co-founders, participated in its launch in 2015, contributed about $38 million, and left the board in 2018.
Court keeps $109 billion damages model in play
On March 13, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers held a four-hour pretrial hearing in Oakland, California, addressing dozens of motions and making preliminary rulings on key evidence. The judge declined to exclude a damages report prepared for Musk’s side by C. Paul Wazzan, an economist with Berkeley Research Group.
That report estimated that if a jury finds OpenAI breached its obligations, the company could face as much as $109 billion in damages. Wazzan separately estimated that Microsoft should pay $25 billion, though the judge has not yet ruled on that portion. Together, those figures form the core of Musk’s claimed $134 billion case for damages.
Judge signals actual award could be much lower
The ruling did not amount to full support for Musk’s position. Judge Gonzalez Rogers said that even if Musk prevails, the final damages award could end up far below $109 billion. She pointed to several reasons, including the possibility that some claims may be time-barred and that a jury could decide Musk deserves only partial credit for OpenAI’s success.
The judge also made a preliminary ruling that Musk cannot seek punitive damages. That narrows the scope of potential recovery before the trial begins. OpenAI and Microsoft have denied all allegations and said the company’s restructuring remained consistent with its mission and did not break any promises.
Motive remains part of the public debate
Musk’s pledge to give away any court winnings has been taken by supporters as evidence that the lawsuit is about principle rather than personal gain. Critics, on the other hand, have pointed to the fact that Musk’s xAI is a direct competitor to OpenAI. With the April 28 jury trial approaching, the dispute over OpenAI’s structure and original purpose is moving into a more visible courtroom phase.