PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Islamabad, May 18, 2026. The most scrutinized trial in the global technology industry has concluded with a clear defeat for Elon Musk against OpenAI. A unanimous nine-member jury, sitting at the federal court in Oakland, California, rejected the billionaire's lawsuit after less than two hours of deliberation, at the end of a three-week trial that had mobilized the attention of Pakistani media Dawn and Geo News.

The reason cited is technical but decisive: the jury estimated that Musk had filed his lawsuit too late. According to the documents submitted to the case, Musk had knowledge of OpenAI's shift to the profitable model as early as 2021, three years before filing his lawsuit in the summer of 2024. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers was direct: 'There is a substantial amount of evidence supporting the jury's conclusions, which is why I was ready to close the case immediately.'

Musk had based his lawsuit on the accusation that Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman had diverted the original mission of OpenAI - founded in 2015 as a non-profit organization to develop AI for the benefit of humanity - by attaching a commercial entity to it as early as 2019. He claimed compensation for the $38 million he had given to the initial structure, denouncing what he called 'charity theft.' Microsoft, the historic partner of OpenAI, invested over $100 billion in the company, according to the testimony of one of its executives at the trial.

Musk's reaction did not take long. On his X network, the world's richest man lambasted the judge and jurors, saying they had ruled on a 'calendar detail' rather than the substance. 'It is clear to anyone who has followed the case in detail that Altman and Brockman have indeed enriched themselves by pillaging a charitable organization,' he wrote. He also announced an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, warning that the verdict creates a 'devastating precedent for charitable donations in America.'

On the other hand, OpenAI savored its victory. Its spokesperson Sam Singer described the verdict as a 'resounding triumph,' adding that the lawsuit was 'nothing more than an attempt by Musk to slow down a competitor.' The company is preparing for an initial public offering that could value it at $1 trillion.

During the trial, Sam Altman had counterattacked by saying that Musk initially wanted to take control of the organization, going so far as to suggest that control 'should pass to his children' after his death.