Musk OpenAI Trial May 2026: What Each Side Argued in Closings and What Happens Monday

# Musk OpenAI Trial May 2026: What Each Side Argued in Closings and What Happens Monday

> **Quick answer:** Closing arguments in Musk v. OpenAI wrapped on May 14, 2026. Musk was in Beijing. His lawyer apologized to the jury, then argued that five witnesses called Sam Altman a liar and that OpenAI violated the charitable trust it was founded on. OpenAI's lawyers called the whole lawsuit "a pageant of hypocrisy." The jury receives its final instructions today (May 15) and deliberates Monday May 18, the same day the damages phase kicks off. Any verdict the jury returns is advisory — U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has the final word on both liability and remedies. Stakes: up to $150 billion in disgorgement, Altman and Brockman's removal, and a potential forced reversion of OpenAI to nonprofit structure.

The most consequential AI trial in history reached its final act on Thursday — and the man who filed the $150 billion lawsuit wasn't even in the building. Here is a complete breakdown of what each side argued and what happens next.

## The Closing Argument That Started With an Apology

Before Steven Molo delivered a word of Musk's closing argument on May 14, he addressed the jury about the empty plaintiff's chair.

"Mr. Musk is sorry that he could not be here," Molo told jurors, "but I think you saw from his testimony that this is something that he's passionate about." Musk had flown to Beijing aboard Air Force One the night before, joining President Trump's trade delegation to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was not legally required to attend — the judge's earlier warning applied only if he was recalled as a witness, and he was not.