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Court says: nice try, too late
Elon Musk just hit the courtroom version of a yellow light. A federal jury in Oakland said his lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft was filed too late under California’s three-year statute of limitations, and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers backed that verdict after a quick deliberation.
Musk isn’t exactly taking the L
On X, Musk said the judge and jury never really ruled on the substance of his claims—just the calendar. His next move: an appeal to the Ninth Circuit. His argument is basically that letting the case die on timing creates a bad precedent for charitable giving, because he says OpenAI’s nonprofit roots got turned into a private money machine.
Why investors should care
Microsoft is the stock in the crosshairs here, even if OpenAI is the real drama magnet. The company’s multibillion-dollar AI bet has been tied to OpenAI’s restructuring and legal baggage, so every new twist keeps the risk meter from getting too cozy.
Alphabet gets a cameo too, since OpenAI pointed to Google DeepMind as part of the arms race justification. Translation: the AI race is still expensive, messy, and very much lawyer-friendly.
Big picture: even when the merits don’t get decided, the headlines still do damage. In AI, the legal bill is becoming part of the operating cost.