Fate of OpenAI in jurors' hands: Closing arguments wrap up bitter Musk-Altman Trial

The high-stakes courtroom drama that has captivated Silicon Valley for weeks is finally nearing a climax. Closing arguments concluded on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an Oakland, California federal courthouse, officially sending Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI to a nine-person jury.

Deliberations are set to begin in earnest on Monday morning, with the verdict poised to dramatically reshape the future of artificial intelligence governance and OpenAI's anticipated $1 trillion public listing later this year.

The core dispute: Stolen charity vs Sour grapes

The trial has put two wildly differing accounts of OpenAI's history on display. Elon Musk’s legal team argued that Altman, alongside co-founder Greg Brockman, fundamentally breached a founding agreement and charitable trust by restructuring the original non-profit startup into a commercial behemoth.

The prosecution

Musk's lead attorney, Steven Molo, accused Altman of abandoning the original mission to develop safe Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity, calling the transition a callous play for personal power and wealth.

"It is not OK to steal a charity," Musk previously testified, claiming he was swindled into providing tens of millions in critical early funding.

The defense

OpenAI’s legal team, led by William Savitt and Sarah Eddy, forcefully rejected the claims. They presented internal documents to argue that Musk was aware of the necessity for a for-profit arm as early as 2017. Defense attorneys maintained that Musk’s lawsuit is driven by "sour grapes" and professional jealousy following his failed bid to absorb OpenAI into Tesla in 2018.

Altman takes the stand: Character and culture under fire

The final week of the trial saw Sam Altman take the witness stand to defend his integrity and the organization's legacy. Altman fired back at Musk's narrative, painting the centibillionaire as an erratic and destructive co-founder.

"Mr. Musk did try to kill it," Altman testified, alleging that Musk’s aggressive management style deeply fractured the early research lab. He detailed a specific instance where Musk reportedly demanded that top researchers be stack-ranked so he could "take a chainsaw through a bunch," an action Altman claimed did long-term cultural damage.

Altman also revealed a past conversation where Musk mused about eventually passing control of OpenAI down to his own children.

However, cross-examination forced Altman to confront a parade of character attacks from former close allies. Musk's attorneys played video depositions from former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and former CTO Mira Murati, both of whom testified under oath to a "consistent pattern of lying" and a habit of pitting executives against one another that originally triggered Altman's brief, chaotic ouster in late 2023

High-profile witnesses and absences

The three-week trial featured a virtual who's who of tech royalty. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella took the stand, famously describing the 2023 boardroom coup against Altman as "amateur city" while defending Microsoft's massive infrastructure investments. Video testimony was also introduced from former board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley, as well as Shivon Zilis.

Conspicuously absent from the final days was Musk himself. Despite a stern warning from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to remain available for potential recall, the billionaire flew to China on a diplomatic trip.

The multi-billion-dollar stakes

As jurors prepare to deliberate on charges of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment, the tangible consequences for OpenAI are immense. Musk is actively seeking the removal of Altman and Brockman from leadership, the complete reversal of the company's for-profit corporate structure, and the redistribution of $134 billion back to the firm's non-profit wing.

With a verdict expected next week, the jury's decision will either vindicate Altman’s commercialized vision for advanced AI or deliver a catastrophic structural blow to the world's leading AI lab just as it prepares to go public.