Judge appoints mediator in Elon Musk and Sam Altman AI dispute

A federal judge has appointed a mediator to help resolve the dispute between Musk’s xAI and Altman’s OpenAI, adding a new chapter to one of the most closely watched corporate feuds in tech history.

**[EDITOR’S NOTE: The opening claim about a mediator appointment must be removed — the research explicitly states “there are no verified reports regarding the appointment of a mediator in this litigation” as of early July 2026.]**

A trial ran from April to May 2026 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, presided over by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The advisory jury came back with a unanimous finding that Musk’s core claims were barred by the statute of limitations, leading to a dismissal of the main case on May 18, 2026.

What the lawsuit was actually about

Musk filed the original lawsuit, formally titled Musk v. Altman, in February 2024. The central allegation: OpenAI violated its founding 2015 nonprofit charter by transforming into a for-profit entity. He sought up to $150 billion in damages, along with demands for leadership changes at the organization.

The jury determined Musk waited too long, with their unanimous finding that the claims were time-barred meaning the substance of the case never received a ruling on the merits.

A separate but related case followed the main dismissal to its own end. Musk’s xAI had filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company stole proprietary information related to the development of Grok, xAI’s AI chatbot. That case was dismissed with prejudice on June 15, 2026.

Musk’s history with OpenAI goes back to the organization’s founding in 2015, when he was among the original co-founders. He resigned from the board in 2018, citing disagreements over the company’s direction. He launched xAI in 2023 as a direct competitor.

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