The legal feud between Elon Musk and the leadership of OpenAI is officially heading to a courtroom.
On Thursday, January 15, 2026, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected requests from OpenAI and Microsoft to dismiss the case, ruling that there is sufficient evidence for a jury to determine if the startup betrayed its founding promise to remain a nonprofit public charity.
The trial is set to begin on April 27, 2026, and is expected to last through late May.
The ruling marks a significant victory for Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with a mission to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits all of humanity—specifically as an open-source, non-commercial counterweight to Google.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers dismissed arguments from OpenAI that Musk lacked the legal standing to sue because he donated his initial $38 million through an intermediary.
She noted that holding otherwise would "significantly reduce the enforcement of charitable trusts."
Crucially, the judge cited internal communications as evidence of potential fraud.
She pointed to a 2017 private note from co-founder Greg Brockman which read: "cannot say that we are committed to the non-profit... if three months later we’re doing b-corp then it was a lie."
These documents, the judge suggested, create a "triable issue of fact" regarding whether the leadership knowingly misled donors about the company’s trajectory.
While Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) failed to escape the trial entirely, it did score a partial win.
The judge rejected Musk’s "unjust enrichment" claim against the software giant, noting the lack of a direct contractual relationship with Musk.
However, the jury will still decide if Microsoft had "actual knowledge" of OpenAI’s alleged wrongdoing when it poured billions into the firm.
The legal battle coincides with OpenAI’s massive structural overhaul.
In October 2025, the company finalized its transition into a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), a move that valued the startup at a staggering $500 billion.
The trial will pit former partners—now fierce rivals—against each other.
Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 and launched his own AI firm, xAI, in 2023, has characterized the case as a battle for the "soul of AI."
OpenAI, meanwhile, maintains the suit is a "harassment" tactic designed to slow down a superior competitor.
"Mr. Musk’s lawsuit continues to be baseless," OpenAI said in a statement following the ruling.
"We look forward to demonstrating this at trial."
If the jury finds in favor of Musk, the court could potentially order OpenAI to return to its original open-source roots or impose massive financial penalties that could disrupt its $500 billion valuation and plans for an IPO in 2027.