Elon Musk Seeks Up to $134 Billion in Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Microsoft

Elon Musk has initiated legal proceedings against OpenAI and its primary backer, Microsoft, seeking damages ranging from $79 billion to $134 billion. Musk contends that his early financial and non-monetary contributions were pivotal to OpenAI's current valuation.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, marks the latest escalation in Musk's public and legal dispute with OpenAI, the AI company he co-founded in 2015. The case is scheduled for a jury trial in April 2026 after the court declined to dismiss Musk's claims.

Musk argues that OpenAI and its strategic partner Microsoft generated massive commercial value from his early involvement, despite OpenAI originally being established as a non-profit artificial intelligence research organization. According to court filings, Musk contributed approximately $38 million in early funding, alongside operational guidance and reputational backing during OpenAI's formative years.

The lawsuit claims that OpenAI's later transition into a commercial, capped-profit entity, combined with Microsoft's multibillion-dollar investment and exclusive cloud partnership, resulted in what Musk's legal team describes as "wrongful gains."

Musk is seeking between $65.5 billion and $109.4 billion from OpenAI, and an additional $13.3 billion to $25.1 billion from Microsoft, bringing the total claim to as much as $134 billion.

While Microsoft was not involved in OpenAI's founding, Musk's lawsuit alleges that the company benefited significantly from OpenAI's technology through its deep integration of OpenAI models into products such as Azure AI services and Copilot offerings.

Microsoft has rejected the allegations, stating that it did not engage in wrongdoing or assist OpenAI in violating any legal or contractual obligations. The company has formally denied claims that it owes Musk any compensation.

OpenAI has described Musk's lawsuit as "baseless," disputing the idea that Musk is entitled to compensation based on the organization's later valuation or commercial success. The company has also published historical communications and internal documentation to counter Musk's version of events, arguing that its transition toward commercialization was necessary to fund large-scale AI development.