Elon Musk has suffered a significant legal defeat in his long-running dispute with Sam Altman and OpenAI after a federal jury ruled unanimously against him on Monday. The decision ends Musk’s bid to undo the company’s shift from its original nonprofit mission and reclaim control of its direction.

In a trial that drew intense attention from the tech industry, a nine-member jury in Oakland, California, deliberated for less than two hours before determining that Musk’s lawsuit was filed too late under the statute of limitations, effectively barring his claims without evaluating their substance.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and invested tens of millions of dollars in its early years, had accused Altman, Greg Brockman and other defendants of breaching their original charitable trust by transforming the organisation into a for-profit venture and forging lucrative partnerships, including with Microsoft.

But jurors concluded that any alleged harms occurred years before Musk filed suit in 2024, meaning his legal claims had already expired under applicable deadlines. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accepted the jury’s advisory verdict and dismissed the case, leaving Musk without legal recourse on the current claims.

The outcome is a notable victory for OpenAI and its leadership, clearing a key obstacle as the company advances plans for a major public offering that could value it at close to $1 trillion. Legal experts say the verdict reinforces the importance of timing in commercial litigation, even in high-profile disputes.

Musk’s legal team has indicated plans to appeal the decision, characterising the dismissal as a setback on procedural rather than substantive grounds. The broader legal and commercial battle between Musk’s own AI venture and OpenAI is likely to continue playing out outside the courtroom.