Elon Musk narrows fraud lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman to just 2 claims before Oakland trial starts Monday

Musk dropped fraud allegations against OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman on Friday, reducing his November 2024 complaint from 26 claims to 2 — unjust enrichment and breach of charitable trust. Jury selection begins Monday in federal court in Oakland, California.

The trial will now focus on Musk's core allegation: that OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission to benefit humanity when it accepted billions in backing from Microsoft and planned to restructure as a for-profit company. A jury will issue an advisory verdict (non-binding advice to the judge), and the judge will separately rule on remedies.

If Musk wins, he is seeking up to $134 billion in damages directed to OpenAI's charitable arm, plus a court order to restore OpenAI's nonprofit status and remove Altman (CEO) and Brockman (president) from their roles. OpenAI, Microsoft, Altman, and Brockman have denied all claims and called the lawsuit baseless harassment.