Elon Musk just lost his massive legal battle to take back control of the firm he helped create and fund many years ago. On Monday, a jury in California threw out his lawsuit against the makers of ChatGPT and their boss, Sam Altman. They did not need much time.
After three weeks of hearing from the biggest names in tech, the jurors spent only two hours talking before they reached a verdict. They said he filed the case too late, so the clock ran out on his chance to win back the heart of the company. He claimed they lied to him.
Now, the man who runs Tesla and X has no legal path left to sue over what he called a heavy and broken promise. Musk told the court that he gave $38 million to help a charity and not to build a massive for-profit tech giant in the valley. He wore a dark suit and a tie when he sat on the stand during the first day of the trial in the local court. And he looked the jury in the eye.
"It is not okay to steal a charity," he told them while warning that the roots of giving would be destroyed soon. But the other side had a different story. Sam Altman told the court that Musk wanted to own the whole thing and keep it for himself for a very long time. He said Musk even wanted his kids to run the firm one day if he was not there to lead them in the future.
They started the group in 2015 to build safe tools for all people, but things changed after a few years went by fast. Yet Musk left in 2018 when he did not get his way and the other founders said no to his big plans for them. The jury heard from Microsoft boss Satya Nadella too, but his words did not help the case for the plaintiff at all. And they tossed the claims against Microsoft as well. It was a win for the giant. And it was a sharp blow for the world's richest man as he left the court on Monday with nothing to show for it.
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