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Updated on: May 18, 2026 / 2:28 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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A California jury on Monday unanimously dismissed claims against OpenAI and Sam Altman for failing to file a claim within the statute of limitations, delivering a victory to the AI company and its founder in a high-stakes case brought by Elon Musk.The nine-person jury, which was serving in an advisory role, found that Musk missed the three-year statute of limitations to file suit. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez, who presided over the case, accepted the jury's verdict and dismissed Musk's claims.OpenAI had argued that Musk waited too long and could not claim damages from before August 2021.The decision caps a three-week trial in an Oakland courtroom, pitting Altman against Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX.Both Altman and Musk testified during the trial, along with OpenAI and Microsoft executives and legal experts. Musk was seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Altman's removal from company leadership. A decision in Musk's favor could also have forced changes to OpenAI's business structure and thrown a wrench into the company's plan to go public, expected later this year. Musk's legal team and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
