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Elon Musk Wants Sam Altman Fired From OpenAI. A Jury Will Decide.

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Nate Gregory
Published Apr 8, 2026
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Summary:
  • Musk's lawyers filed to have Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman removed as officers of the company.
  • Musk is also seeking to force OpenAI back to its original nonprofit structure.
  • Jury selection starts April 27 in federal court in Oakland, California.

The richest person on Earth wants the top AI chief out of a job. And a jury will decide.

Musk's lawyers filed papers Tuesday asking a court to remove Sam Altman from the board. They also want Altman and Greg Brockman out as leaders at OpenAI.

The case goes back to 2024. Musk says OpenAI tricked him into giving $38 million. He was told the firm would stay a nonprofit.

What Musk Wants

Beyond firing leaders, Musk wants OpenAI to go back to being a true nonprofit. The firm completed an overhaul in October. Now it runs as a nonprofit with a 26% stake in the profit side with ChatGPT.

Musk's lawyers also want to return "all bad gains, even from Microsoft, to the OpenAI charity." In a Jan filing, they said that could be up to $134 billion.

OpenAI Fired Back

OpenAI fought back. It said on X that Musk is "faking his tune change." It called the case "a push driven by ego and envy to slow a rival."

OpenAI also sent a letter to state lawyers in California and Delaware. It asked them to look into what it called "bad acts" by Musk - and his ties to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

What to Watch

Jury pick starts April 27 in Oakland. The trial could reshape the AI world's top fight - and set law for how nonprofits turned into firms are run.

Musk founded xAI and merged it into SpaceX. Altman runs the firm Musk helped start. There's no middle way here.

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