Jury deliberations will start in the trial involving the OpenAI nonprofit following Musk's absence from the closing sessions to attend an event in Beijing.

      After three weeks of testimony in Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’s courtroom in Oakland, the case has concluded its closing arguments in Musk v. Altman. The nine-member jury has been dismissed for the weekend and will commence deliberations on Monday.

      The lengthy trial included depositions and testimonies from various Silicon Valley figures such as Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Elon Musk himself. This has led to two contrasting interpretations: Musk’s lawyers claimed that Altman and Brockman “took a charity,” while the defense argued that Musk simply “didn't get his way at OpenAI.”

      Musk was not present during the closing arguments; his attorney apologized to the jury for his absence, explaining that Musk was attending Donald Trump’s delegation in Beijing, where he was alongside prominent figures like Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, and Larry Fink for a state visit. Musk’s legal team seemed to view this absence as less detrimental compared to the negative perception of missing a trip with Trump.

      As the case has unfolded since its initiation in late April, it revolves around two main assertions: that OpenAI’s 2025 recapitalization, which transformed the nonprofit into a capped-profit entity valued at $350 billion in the latest funding round, violated the charitable trust tied to Musk's approximately $38 million donations made between 2015 and 2017, and that Altman, Brockman, and Microsoft unjustly profited from this process. Microsoft is also implicated as a co-defendant based on aiding-and-abetting claims. A key piece of evidence presented during the trial was Brockman’s 2017 personal journal, which labeled OpenAI's nonprofit status as "a lie."

      Musk's claims include seeking up to $134 billion in disgorgement, which would not be for his personal gain, as he stated during the trial that he renounced any personal benefit, aiming instead for a return to OpenAI’s nonprofit model. He requested that Altman and Brockman be removed from their positions and that the recapitalization be reversed. Musk has characterized this case as pivotal in determining whether founders can convert a charity into a commercial entity without the original donors’ consent.

      OpenAI’s defense has focused on a narrower factual argument, contending that Altman and Brockman did not make binding commitments to Musk regarding the company's structure, that Musk’s donations were utilized according to the agreed research mission, and that the recapitalization complied with the legal procedures approved by California’s attorney general. Microsoft’s legal team maintained that its $13 billion in cumulative investments were crucial for OpenAI's survival, which enabled the development of the technology that Musk now seeks to reclaim, with Nadella’s testimony highlighting the deal as a means to prevent Microsoft from becoming “the next IBM.”

      Two procedural aspects are critical for the eventual verdict. The jury is technically advisory, with Judge Gonzalez Rogers retaining the final decision on remedies, and although she is likely to align with the jury's determination, she is not obligated to do so. Furthermore, the trial is divided into two phases, where liability will be settled first, followed by a separate process for remedies, determined solely by the judge regarding any disgorgement or structural relief based on findings of liability.

      A jury verdict in Musk’s favor on Monday or Tuesday won’t automatically remove Altman from his role. However, the outcome will indicate whether jurors believe that nonprofit-to-profit transitions like OpenAI’s should be subject to judicial scrutiny. Both parties agree that this case could significantly influence the governance of AI labs that began as charitable organizations and have evolved into some of the world’s most valuable private firms, with companies like Anthropic closely monitoring developments.

      Deliberations will commence on Monday in Oakland, with the remedies phase, if warranted, to be conducted solely by Gonzalez Rogers later in the year.