OpenAI Trial: Jury Deliberates Musk's Legal Standing

A nine-person jury in Oakland has begun deliberating in a major corporate governance trial concerning OpenAI. They are deciding if CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman violated charitable-trust law when they converted a nonprofit AI research lab into a public benefit corporation. Here's the thing: The jury must first determine if Elon Musk filed his lawsuit within the statutory time limit. Musk departed OpenAI's board in 2018 but didn't file suit until 2024, a six-year gap. If the jury finds the claims are time-barred, the case ends without addressing the core issues, and OpenAI's restructuring stands. What's interesting is that most legal scholars are skeptical about the standing question. The power to police donor intent usually rests with state attorneys general, not individual donors. The California attorney general declined to join Musk's suit, stating it did not serve the public interest. If the case survives this hurdle, the jury will then weigh claims of breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment. A key piece of evidence is a 2017 journal entry from Greg Brockman, stating, "Cannot say we are committed to the non-profit... if three months later we're doing b-corp then it was a lie." The bottom line: The outcome of this trial could significantly impact the future governance and commercial structure of OpenAI, affecting its 700 million weekly users.