Was OpenAI built on a lie — and could a jury sympathetic to that claim force it to undergo yet another dramatic transformation?
Later this month, Elon Musk will ask an Oakland federal jury to decide whether his fellow OpenAI cofounders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, deceived him into donating $38 million to the AI company by promising it would remain a nonprofit for the benefit of humanity.
In allowing the case to go to trial, the judge cited, among other evidence, an exhibit containing Brockman’s private musings over the direction of the nonprofit before Musk resigned from its board in 2018.
“can’t see us turning this into a for-profit without a very nasty fight,” Brockman wrote, adding, “and his story will correctly be that we weren’t honest with him in the end about still wanting to do the for profit just without him.”
The same exhibit also shows Brockman saying it would be “morally bankrupt” to “steal” the company from Musk.
The battle of the titans is set to kick off with jury selection on April 27, marking the culmination of a feud that has long spilled outside the courtroom. Earlier this month, OpenAI asked the attorneys general of California and Delaware to probe “anti-competitive behavior” by Musk, who runs rival AI company xAI.
In the latest twist, Musk has asked the Oakland federal judge overseeing the case to consider removing Altman as an officer of the for-profit if the jury finds him liable, among other potential remedies. The judge will review potential remedies after the jury decides on the liability claims.
So what’s at stake for the key players in this legal battle? We compiled a list of potential consequences for OpenAI, Altman, Musk, and more as the trial nears.
OpenAI
At the heart of the case is OpenAI’s 2025 transition to a for-profit entity. If he wins, Musk wants OpenAI, now valued at over $800 billion, to be returned to a nonprofit entity. He’s also asking for billions in disgorgement to be returned to the nonprofit.
If forced to revert to a nonprofit, OpenAI could face fundraising headaches as it lays the groundwork for a possible IPO, which could happen as soon as this year. The AI company has been on a seemingly never-ending quest to raise the capital necessary to train and launch more advanced LLMs, and previously faced investor pressure to restructure into a more traditional for-profit entity.
Sam Altman
Musk is seeking to have Altman removed as a director of the nonprofit and as an officer of the for-profit. He also wants to strip Altman of his equity in the company, which could limit Altman’s ability to profit if OpenAI goes public.
Whether the judge would agree with Musk’s request to remove Altman is another question. On Friday, the judge questioned whether some of Musk’s remedy requests were within her powers. She said she will consider Musk’s demands after the jury decides on the liability issue.
The trial could also reignite questions about Altman’s leadership, which were thrust into the limelight when he was briefly fired by the board in 2023. Musk’s lawyers are expected to call to the witness stand former board members who voted for Altman to be fired, saying he fostered a “toxic culture of lying,” including potentially Tasha McCauley.
Regardless of the legal outcome, testimony about Altman could prove bruising, especially as it comes hot on the heels of Ronan Farrow’s New Yorker investigation questioning if the CEO could be trusted.
Greg Brockman
Musk is also seeking to have Brockman removed as an officer of OpenAI and stripped of his equity in the company. Brockman is currently president of OpenAI.
Like Altman, Brockman can also expect to be confronted with potentially uncomfortable evidence at trial, including more of his diary entries.
Microsoft
Musk claims Microsoft, which invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019, aided and abetted OpenAI’s breach of his charitable donations.
His effort to force OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit could dismantle the current commercial structure between OpenAI and Microsoft, which was renegotiated in 2025. Musk is also seeking financial disgorgement in the billions, as well as disgorgement of intellectual property rights.
Elon Musk
In a hearing on Friday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she still needs to decide whether to grant Musk his requests for structural remedies, like the unwinding of the for-profit.
OpenAI, meanwhile, is waging a legal and highly public counter- offensive that frames Musk as a disgruntled rival simply looking to take down a competitor. In a counterclaim green-lighted to proceed last year, OpenAI has argued that Musk’s lawsuit is intended to disrupt its business.
Musk established his own AI startup, xAI, in 2023, which competes with OpenAI directly for talent, funding, and customers. Recently unsealed documents show Musk asking Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2025 to join a bid to buy OpenAI’s assets.
“His lawsuit remains nothing more than a harassment campaign that’s driven by ego, jealousy and a desire to slow down a competitor,” the company posted in social media site X on April 7.
Musk is also preparing a public offering for SpaceX, his rocket company that acquired xAI in February. Proving successful in court against OpenAI would notch him a win that would undoubtedly throw a monkey wrench into the operations of his chief rival at a time when the Tesla CEO is looking to gain investor momentum for xAI.
A loss in court could validate claims that he is merely looking to disrupt a rival and open him to damages to OpenAI for business interference.
