Elon Musk is demanding $79 billion to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft Corp., escalating a legal fight that could reshape how Silicon Valley founders challenge mission changes at fast-growing AI firms.
The request ties a donor’s early support to a later corporate valuation, and it moves the dispute closer to a late-April jury trial in Oakland, California, after a judge refused to shut the case down before trial.
Musk’s lawyer outlined the proposed damages in a court filing on Friday, according to Bloomberg. The filing arrived one day after a federal judge rejected OpenAI and Microsoft’s final attempt to avoid a jury trial.
The Elon Musk OpenAI damages demand is anchored to OpenAI’s stated current valuation of $500 billion. Musk’s filing argues he is entitled to disgorgement, meaning the return of alleged “wrongful gains.”
Steven Molo, counsel for Musk, compared the claim to early startup investing. He argued that gains can be far larger than initial contributions when a company scales.
The filing cites a damages analysis by financial economist C. Paul Wazzan. It says Musk should receive a portion of OpenAI’s value after being defrauded of the $38 million he donated as seed money when he helped found OpenAI in 2015.
Wazzan’s approach adds Musk’s financial support and non-monetary contributions, including technical and business advice. Consequently, the filing presents a range of alleged wrongful gains for both defendants.
For OpenAI, the filing lists $65.50 billion to $109.43 billion in wrongful gains. Microsoft lists $13.30 billion to $25.06 billion, based on the expert’s calculations.
Also Read: Elon Musk vs. Sam Altman: The Battle Over OpenAI's Future Intensifies
OpenAI and Microsoft rejected the damages in a response filed early Saturday. They argued Musk is seeking as much as 2,900 times what he put into the startup.
The companies attacked Wazzan’s methodology and asked the court to block him from presenting those conclusions at trial. In their view, the analysis is unverifiable and unprecedented.
OpenAI also criticized the claim in a statement, calling the lawsuit “baseless” and the damages demand “unserious.” The statement said the case is part of an ongoing pattern of harassment and that OpenAI looks forward to the trial.
Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018, and he later launched his own artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI, in 2023. Meanwhile, the legal conflict intensified in 2024 as Musk challenged OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure under co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sam Altman.
OpenAI announced a restructuring effort in October, according to the information described in the filing and related statements. It said the transition would keep the nonprofit parent in control of the for-profit operations.
As part of that plan, OpenAI said it had given Microsoft a 27% ownership stake in the transition structure. Still, Musk argues the partnership and the departure from nonprofit roots underpin his fraud claims.
Musk’s filing also signals more potential relief beyond the headline number. It says he plans to seek punitive damages and may pursue an injunction, although the filing did not describe what an injunction would require.
The legal dispute is now positioned for a late-April jury trial in Oakland, setting up a public test of claims tied to OpenAI’s nonprofit mission, its restructuring, and Microsoft’s backing. Furthermore, the pretrial fight over expert testimony suggests both sides expect the damages math to be a central battleground.