After less than two hours of deliberations, a jury on Monday rejectedElon Musk'sclaims against OpenAI CEOSam Altman, ending a dramatic chapter in the bitter rivalry between the two tech billionaires, who wereonce close friends.

The court, led by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, agreed with the advisory jury's determination that Altman and OpenAI were not liable, and that "claims of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment are dismissed as untimely." Gonzales Rogers said she was prepared to dismiss Musk's claims "on the spot."

The jury found that Musk's claims were filed outside of the statute of limitations, deciding that Musk had three years to sue and he did not file on time.

"There's a substantial amount of evidence to support the jury's finding," the judge said in wrapping up the three-week trial in Oakland, California.

Addressing Gonzales Rogers, Musk's lawyer, Steven Molo, reserved his client's right to appeal.

Musk sued Altman and OpenAI in 2024, alleging they violated their commitment to keep the artificial intelligence lab as a nonprofit. Musk helped start OpenAI in 2015, but left the board three years later.

Microsoft, which invested in OpenAI as early as 2019, was also named as a defendant in the suit, with Musk claiming the software giant aided and abetted the AI startup in its alleged breach of charitable trust. The court said the claim against Microsoft was also dismissed.

Counsel for OpenAI and Microsoft celebrated with hugs and back slaps as they departed the courtroom in downtown Oakland.

Musk's team wanted the court to force OpenAI and Microsoft to give up as much as $134 billion in "ill-gotten gains," to remove Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman from leadership, and to unwind the company's 2025 restructuring that enabled the growth of its for-profit arm. Musk said any money should be returned to "the OpenAI charity" rather than to him personally.

At the heart of the case was Musk's claim that OpenAI executives "stole a charity," with Altman and Brockman abandoning OpenAI's founding charitable mission in pursuit of their own personal profit. Musk testified he gave roughly $38 million to OpenAI on the understanding it would develop AI "for the benefit of humanity," not enrich any one person.

Source: Drudge Report