The Legal Battle Between Elon Musk and OpenAI Enters Its Final Days

Summary

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WSJ Tech News Briefing: The Legal Battle Between Elon Musk and OpenAI Enters Its Final Days

Date: May 15, 2026
Host: Julie Chang
Key Topics: The blockbuster lawsuit Elon Musk brought against OpenAI, its courtroom drama, implications for the AI industry, and impacts on OpenAI’s planned IPO.

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Episode Theme Overview

This episode delivers an in-depth look into the high-stakes legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI, focusing on courtroom developments, key testimonies, and the potential industry-wide implications of the trial’s outcome. WSJ reporter Jim Carlton joins host Julie Chang to unpack the atmosphere at court, notable revelations, and what the verdict could mean for OpenAI, its leadership, and the broader trajectory of artificial intelligence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Courtroom Atmosphere and Public Attention

• Surreal Scene & High Security
  • The final day of testimony drew major crowds by 7:30 AM, filling the courthouse with lawyers, media, and onlookers.
  • Quote – Jim Carlton (07:58):

    “You go in and there's all the security…there’s already like 40 people waiting in line. You go through security and it’s just no nonsense. You go up to the fourth floor. I was just struck at how many suits there are.”

• Both sides boasted large legal teams, with heavy representation from OpenAI, Microsoft, and Musk’s team, alongside dozens of media members and industry watchers.

2. Public Sentiment and Protest Outside Court

• Some demonstrators displayed strong, polarized opinions, including anti-Musk imagery and warnings about AI risks.
  • Quote – Jim Carlton (08:42):

    “There’s a handful of signs. There’s one with a image of Elon with a Nazi symbol. There’s a guy out there with some, you know, ‘AI is going to doom the human race,’ so there’s kind of an undercurrent of fear, really, over AI…”

3. Revelations from Testimonies

• Trial featured testimony from powerful tech figures, former board members, and colleagues.
• Text messages and diary entries were read aloud, lifting the curtain on internal dynamics at OpenAI.
  • Quote – Jim Carlton (09:16):

    “This was just really a voyeur’s dream, this trial, honestly. I mean, there was all kinds of juicy stuff … painted a picture of a leader who struggled with transparency.”

• Elon Musk’s legal team tried to depict Sam Altman as dishonest and manipulative; Altman took the stand to defend himself:
  • Quote – Jim Carlton paraphrasing Sam Altman (09:16):

    “He said, I believe I am an honest and trustworthy business person.”

4. Potential Precedent for the AI Industry

• The stakes extend beyond OpenAI:
  • A Musk victory could force OpenAI back to nonprofit status, which might set a precedent for AI companies using hybrid nonprofit/for-profit models (e.g., Anthropic).
  • The case raises questions about whether top AI firms can prioritize safety over profits in a high-stakes, rapidly-evolving field.
  • Leadership shakeups, restructuring, and trust issues could ripple through the industry.
  • Quote – Jim Carlton (09:49):

    “A ruling for Musk could force OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit structure, which could really set a massive legal precedent for other AI companies … The case could result in the removal of key executives … which could increase structure on how AI startups manage trust missions.”

5. Impact on OpenAI’s Planned IPO

• OpenAI is targeting an IPO later this year, and the trial poses significant reputational risks.
  • Investor confidence may be affected by how credible Sam Altman appears following the trial.
  • Quote – Jim Carlton (10:36):

    “…the Musk attorneys have really challenged Sam Altman’s credibility. … When you’re trying to get investors to invest a lot of money into your IPO, that could definitely cause some damage. Who they believe—Sam Altman or Elon Musk—really could affect IPO in a huge way.”

6. What’s Next: The Jury and the Judge

• The trial moves into its decisive phase: closing arguments, then an advisory jury’s recommendation to Judge Gonzalez.
  • Notably, though the jury is advisory, the judge is taking their input seriously.
  • During closing, Judge Gonzalez told the jury:

    “All the pieces of the puzzle are now in the box. Attorneys are going to make that argument where that box goes. Ultimately, you will go in the jury room and figure that out yourself.” (11:25)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Jim Carlton, on the courtroom scene (07:58):

  “There’s so many lawyers at the OpenAI table. There’s like seven lawyers just at the main table, and there’s rows of more OpenAI people and Microsoft lawyers. And then on the Musk side, there’s a battalion of lawyers, too. Very big name lawyers. … You can tell you’re really at something very important.”

• Jim Carlton, on trial revelations (09:16):

  “There was all kinds of juicy stuff … painted a picture of a leader who struggled with transparency. You know, Sam took the stand and really defended his credibility.”

• Jim Carlton, on the industry impact (09:49):

  “Really, the stakes are just massive. … A ruling for Musk could force OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit structure, which could really set a massive legal precedent for other AI companies…”

• Sam Altman’s self-defense, as relayed by Jim Carlton (09:16):

  “I believe I am an honest and trustworthy business person.”

• Judge Gonzalez to the jury (11:25):

  “All the pieces of the puzzle are now in the box. Attorneys are going to make that argument where that box goes. Ultimately, you will go in the jury room and figure that out yourself.”

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Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 07:03 | Trial summary and introduction of Jim Carlton | | 07:58 | Description of courthouse atmosphere and crowd | | 08:42 | Protesters and public sentiment outside | | 09:00 | Notable testimony and revelations about key players | | 09:49 | Broader implications for the AI industry | | 10:36 | Potential effects on OpenAI’s IPO | | 11:07 | What to expect next week: jury’s advisory role | | 11:25 | Judge Gonzalez’s comments to the jury |

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Tone and Language

The discussion is direct, insightful, and measured, reflecting both the gravity and drama of the case. Jim Carlton paints vivid scenes for listeners, from the anxious early-morning courthouse lines to the charged, anxious air inside and outside the trial. The language retains journalistic clarity while conveying the tension and stakes for both the tech world and individual reputations.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode captures the climactic moments in one of tech’s most consequential legal showdowns, revealing not just a high-profile conflict, but the deeper questions facing AI: governance, trust, profit motives, and the shape of future industry standards. As the trial reaches its final stretch, much hangs in the balance—not only for Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and OpenAI, but for the rules and expectations that will shape the next phase of artificial intelligence.

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Transcript

[A]

Social engineering attacks come in disguise, but Doppel sees through them. Our AI native platform shuts down threats and turns employees into first line defenders. Learn more at d o p e l.com.

[B]

Welcome to Tech News briefing. It's Friday, May 15th. I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal. Do you love your fitness tracker but hate having yet another screen to look at? Good news. Some fitness brand are ditching displays. We're breaking down the pros and cons of removing that screen from your wrist, and the blockbuster trial between billionaire elon Musk and OpenAI is wrapping up. We'll unpack what happened in the courtroom this week and examine how the case could impact the future of the AI industry. But first, every morning the first thing I do is put on my Apple watch. I love that it can track my activity and I can track my friend's activity too. But the recent announcement of a new wearable piqued my interest. A $100 wristband from Google called the Fitbit Air that doesn't have a screen. It's the latest in a line of screenless wearables, and the companies that make them are quick to list the perks. By removing the display, these devices can achieve significantly longer battery life, often lasting for several days. And that means more continuous data, allowing a fuller picture of changes in your heart rate, blood oxygen level, temperature and other metrics that can give you information about your health. And the demand for the technology shows no signs of slowing down. According to market research firm Sorcana US purchases of fitness trackers grew 88% between 2024 and 2025, and purchases of smart rings that the pioneers of screenless wearable technology grew 195%. WSJ's Imani Moise spoke with personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen about how these trackers work and if the trend away from screens is here to stay.

[C]

If there's no screen, how do you actually interact with the device and how do you know that it's working?

[D]

You know it's working two ways. These devices have skin side sensors that flash green red depending on what they're sensing and when those are on, you know that it's measuring your heart rate or blood oxygen or heart rate variability or some other biometric. Your phone is the primary way you're engaging on your stats. So these devices connect to an app on your phone that tell you things like how well you slept or your activity readiness, which is to say if you're well recovered to do high intensity activity or whether your body needs some recovery and you should do a lower intensity activity.

[C]

And who are these products really for and who are they attracting?

[D]

They're growing a lot. They're still a small part of the market. Smart rings are only 9%. Even though fitness trackers are definitely exploding overall and we're seeing a general increased interest in longevity and health. And I think that, that the wearable device market definitely mirrors that. So across all age groups, but particularly in the much younger and the much older segment who are both thinking about their health span, which is to say the number of years they live a high quality of life versus just living longer, period.

[C]

A lot of these products rely on recurring memberships for premium analytics. Is this more common for screenless wearables? Are we basically trading screens for subscriptions?

[D]

That's a really good observation. The most surprising thing to me about the uptake in these fitness wearables is like you said, they do require a monthly subscription. Aura, for example, is $6 a month. The Whoop Band has an annual membership that costs over a hundred dollars a year and it seems like people are really willing to pay that amount. Other wearables like the Garmin Smartwatch or the Apple Watch do not carry a monthly fee, but the stats from those watches aren't as detailed. Google's new Fitbit Air, which is an upcoming screenless device, doesn't carry a monthly fee, but there is definitely a premium upgrade if you want personalized AI coaching or more detailed sleep analytics. And so it'll be really interesting to see for this pretty mainstream fitness band that's entering the space how many people are willing to pay and what's been

[C]

your experience with wearables? Do you think they've improved your well being?

[D]

I have been wearing my Apple Watch less and less since I've gotten oura. The Oura ring can look at your vitals and it can sense that you're about to get sick. This actually became really useful to me a couple of weeks ago. I opened my Aura app and it said minor signs of illness detected. And I guess my heart rate had increased the the previous night and my heart rate variability was down and my temperature was rising and it told me I was about to get sick, but I wasn't feeling any symptoms and so I thought, okay, I'm going to prioritize sleep tonight and make sure I get at least eight hours. And the next day I woke up with a sore throat, a runny nose, like serious flu symptoms and I was flattened for a week. But it allowed me to get a head start on prioritizing. My recovery on a day that I probably would have done a more intense workout and maybe worsened my recovery or prolonged my symptoms. But I have definitely tapped into the other benefits. I'm wearing my Apple Watch less and less to track activity because I love the freedom of auto workout detection on the ring and not having to push any buttons in order to track a hike or a walk or a run. I feel like I'm more liberated in that sense. And I have a lot of screens in my life and I'm feeling screen saturation and so I'm more interested in no display tech in general.

[B]

That was WSJ personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen speaking with her colleague Imani Moiz. Would you prefer a screenless fitness tracker? If you're a listener on Spotify, leave us a comment with your thoughts. Coming up, the legal battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman that could change the future of OpenAI is entering its final days. We bring you the latest after the break.

[D]

Foreign.

[A]

Social engineering attacks come in disguise, but Doppel sees through them. Our AI native platform shuts down threats and turns employees into first line defenders. Learn more aT-O-P p e l.com

[B]

the high profile trial pitting the world's richest man against the world's most popular AI lab has concluded its third week of proceedings. Musk has sued OpenAI and its leaders, including CEO Sam Altman, for breach of charitable trust and unjust enrichment. He alleges that the startup manipulated him into giving tens of millions of dollars when it was a nonprofit, only for it to turn into a for profit company. Lawyers for OpenAI have denied wrongdoing. A team of WSJ reporters have been following the case and Jim Carlton spoke with us Thursday afternoon to bring us the latest and before we get into it, a quick disclaimer. News Corp, owner of the Wall Street Journal, has a content licensing partnership with OpenAI. Jim, you've been to the courthouse. Can you give us a sense of what you saw? What was it like? Were there a lot of people there?

[E]

It's really surreal. You go in and there's all the security. I mean, I went in there at like 7:30am and there's already a huge line. This was the last day of testimony on Wednesday and there's already like 40 people waiting in line. You go through security and it's just no nonsense. You go up to the fourth floor. I was just struck at how many suits there are. There's so many lawyers at the OpenAI table. There's like seven lawyers just at the main table, and there's rows of more OpenAI people and Microsoft lawyers. And then on the must side, there's a battalion of lawyers, too. Very big name lawyers. There's two full rows of media. And then they're spectators. You can tell you're really at something very important.

[B]

Were there any people outside the courthouse? Any protesters?

[E]

When I got there, there's a handful of signs. There's one with a image of Elon with a Nazi symbol. There's a guy out there with some, you know, AI is going to doom the human race. So there's kind of an undercurrent of fear, really, over AI that was reflective of some of the protesters I saw outside.

[B]

We've seen a lot of big names testify during this trial. We have heard diary entries and text messages of some of the most powerful in tech read aloud in court. Do you think we learn anything over the course of the trial that changes what we know about these people or companies?

[E]

This was just really a voyager's dream, this trial, honestly. I mean, there was all kinds of juicy stuff came out. There's testimony from former board members at OpenAI and colleagues that painted a picture of a leader who struggled with transparency. You know, Sam took the stand and really defended his credibility. You know, the must side had attempted to paint him as a habitual liar. And, you know, he said, I believe I am an honest and trustworthy business person.

[B]

So, Jim, what do you think this trial means for the broader AI industry?

[E]

Really, the stakes are just massive. A ruling for Musk could force OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit structure, which could really set a massive legal precedent for other AI companies like Anthropic that operate under similar hybrid structures. Also, the trial acts as a public litmus test on whether top AI companies can truly prioritize safety over profit. And finally, the case could result in the removal of key executives, you know, Altman and Greg Bruckman, and force a restructuring of boards, which could increase structure on how AI startups manage trust emissions. So what finally happens with the jury and Judge Gonzalez in that courtroom could really shape the AI industry as we know it.

[B]

OpenAI is aiming for an IPO later this year. How could this trial affect those plans?

[E]

I think there's really a lot at stake here with the ipo. A lot of it comes down to trust. Basically, in this trial, the Musk attorneys have really challenged Sam Altman's credibility. You know, they've basically said he's a liar. And when you're trying to get investors to invest a lot of money into your ipo that could definitely cause some damage. Who they believe Sam Altman or Elon Musk really could affect IPO in a huge way.

[B]

Okay, so going back to the trial, what can we look forward to next week?

[E]

We can look forward to the judge making a very momentous decision, but she's going to be advised by the jury. It's a little bit unusual here. The jury is technically an advisory jury and the judge has been very deferential to the jury. And there was some hint that you will take their advice very seriously because at the very end of the testimony on Wednesday, she turned to the jury and said, okay, all the pieces of the puzzle are now in the box. Attorneys are going to make that argument where that box goes. Ultimately, you will go in the jury room and figure that out yourself. To me, that tells me that she's going to take their advice very seriously.

[B]

That was our reporter, Jim Carlton. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. If you're a listener on Spotify, be sure to leave us a comment. Today's show was produced by me, Julie Chang. Additional help this week from Melanie Royce, Jessica Fenton and Michael Lavalle wrote our theme music. Our supervising producer is Katie Ferguson. Our development producer is Aisha Al Muslim. And Chris Zinsley is the deputy editor of audio for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back later this morning with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

[A]

Social engineering attacks come in disguise, but Doppel sees through them. Our AI native platform shuts down threats and turns employees into first line defenders. Learn more at D O P P E L Com.