Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has lost a jury trial against artificial intelligence (A.I.) startup OpenAI and its leader Sam Altman.
A California jury ruled against Musk, finding that OpenAI did not liable him by allegedly straying from its original mission to benefit humanity as a non-profit organization.
In a unanimous verdict, the jury in federal court said Musk had brought his case too late and that the statutes of limitations that applied had run out.
The trial was seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence, and how the technology should be used and who should benefit from it.
The verdict followed 11 days of testimony and arguments, including from both Musk and Altman, who founded OpenAI together but have since had a falling out.
Each side accused the other of being more interested in money than serving the public good.
Musk also accused OpenAI of wrongfully trying to enrich investors and insiders at the company’s and society’s expense and failing to prioritize A.I.’s safety.
OpenAI countered that Musk waited too long to claim OpenAI breached its founding agreement to build safe A.I. that would benefit humanity.
OpenAI is a competitor of other A.I. startups such as Anthropic and Musk’s xAI.
The legal case came as both OpenAI and Musk’s SpaceX, which merged with xAI earlier this year, prepare for blockbuster initial public offerings (IPOs) later this year.
The value of the combined SpaceX and xAI is expected to top $1 trillion U.S., according to media reports.
TSLA stock has decreased 6% this year to trade at $409.99 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
