Elon Musk said Sam Altman ‘stole’ a non-profit — but the trial showed he had similar aims

Key points

• The jury’s speedy decision to reject Elon Musk’s lawsuit against the other founders of OpenAI and Microsoft confirmed what we saw in the courtroom: Musk’s case was a weak one, in part because he waited so long to file it.
• Watching the closing arguments last week, OpenAI’s attorneys detailed point by point how the law was on their client’s side, while the plaintiff’s team focused on Sam Altman’s apparent lack of credibility and expressed disbelief that anyone would disagree with Musk’s accusations.
• The final effect was that, after the verdict, some found it hard to believe Musk had lost — including the man himself.
• In a post he later deleted, Musk called Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers a “terrible activist Oakland judge,” then announced his plans to appeal, declaring, “There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing...