Elon Musk pledges to donate any OpenAI legal victory proceeds to charity

Elon Musk

• Musk says any legal winnings from OpenAI suit will go to charity
• He alleges OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission for profit
• Jury trial set for April 2026 over fraud and breach claims

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Elon Musk has said he will not personally benefit from his ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI, adding that any financial gains from a legal victory would be donated to charity.

“Btw, the proceeds of any legal victory in the OpenAI case will be donated to charity. I will in no way enrich myself,” Musk wrote in a post.

The case, filed in 2024, also names OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and partner Microsoft. It centres on allegations that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission.

What Musk is arguing

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, claims the organisation was originally set up to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) safely and for the benefit of humanity — not for profit.

He alleges that OpenAI’s shift to a capped-profit and later commercial structure, along with its deep partnership with Microsoft, represents a breach of that founding intent.

Musk has also argued that he contributed roughly $38 million in funding, along with early technical input, before stepping away from the organisation in 2018.

OpenAI’s response

OpenAI disputes Musk’s claims, stating that he was aware of — and at one point supported — plans to move toward a for-profit model as early as 2017.

The company has said discussions broke down over control, alleging Musk sought a more dominant role before ultimately leaving and encouraging OpenAI to raise significant external funding.

Billions at stake

The lawsuit seeks between $79 billion and $134 billion in what Musk describes as “wrongful gains,” though a judge has reportedly questioned how those figures were calculated. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on April 28, 2026, in a California federal court, where fraud and breach-related claims will be examined.

Separately, a trade secrets lawsuit filed by Musk’s AI venture, xAI, against OpenAI was dismissed earlier this year.

The outcome could have far-reaching implications for how AI companies balance nonprofit origins with commercial scale — especially as the industry increasingly relies on massive funding and infrastructure.

Musk’s latest statement attempts to frame the case as mission-driven rather than financially motivated, even as one of the largest legal battles in AI continues to unfold.