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Judge Sends Musk’s OpenAI Lawsuit to April Jury Trial as Microsoft Stays in the Case

Unsealed 2017 emails convinced the court there is enough evidence for a jury.

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied dismissal bids and set jury selection for April 27 in Oakland, with proceedings expected to run up to four weeks into late May.
  • The court affirmed that Elon Musk has standing tied to his roughly $38 million seed donation, rejecting OpenAI’s argument that using an intermediary undercut his ability to enforce donor conditions.
  • Key claims will go to a jury on whether OpenAI abandoned nonprofit and open‑source commitments, and whether Microsoft knowingly aided any breach, though an unjust‑enrichment claim against Microsoft was dismissed.
  • Internal 2017 communications, including a note from cofounder Greg Brockman saying he could not claim commitment to the nonprofit structure, were cited as pivotal evidence, alongside newly unsealed filings and depositions.
  • OpenAI called the suit baseless, warned investors to expect “deliberately outlandish” claims, and pushed back in a blog post, while market reaction included Jim Cramer calling the case “the real deal” and Kalshi bettors putting Musk’s odds near 57%.