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Musk v. Altman Trial Begins in Oakland with Jury Selection

2026-04-27 07:05

Jury selection began Monday in federal court in Oakland for the civil trial pitting Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, with opening statements and witness testimony scheduled to start Tuesday. The case has been narrowed to two claims—breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment—over OpenAI's conversion from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity; Musk previously dropped his fraud allegations. If Musk prevails, he seeks to unwind the for-profit conversion, remove Altman and Brockman from leadership, and sever OpenAI's Microsoft partnership—outcomes that would directly threaten OpenAI's planned IPO. The trial is expected to last approximately four weeks.

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