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Musk Moves to Exclude Law Firm’s OpenAI Probe From Jury in April Trial

By  |  February 25, 2026
Musk Moves to Exclude Law Firm’s OpenAI Probe From Jury in April Trial

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and his artificial intelligence venture xAI have asked a federal judge to prevent jurors from hearing about a law firm’s internal review related to Sam Altman’s brief removal and reinstatement as OpenAI’s chief executive, according to Reuters.

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    The request comes ahead of an April trial in Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman and other defendants. Musk filed the case in 2024, alleging that OpenAI has strayed from its original nonprofit mission as it transitions toward a for-profit structure, per Reuters. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but departed in 2018. He now leads xAI, which competes in the rapidly evolving AI sector.

    In a filing submitted Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, Musk’s legal team argued that jurors should not be allowed to consider findings from an investigation conducted by WilmerHale into Altman’s temporary ouster and subsequent return as CEO, according to Reuters. The lawyers cited a rule of evidence that allows judges to exclude material that could unfairly sway or confuse a jury.

    Related: Elon Musk Seeks Billions in Damages From OpenAI and Microsoft as Legal Fight Heads to Trial

    OpenAI commissioned the WilmerHale review but has not made the report public. In court papers, Musk contended that OpenAI intends to present what he described as a one-sided summary of the investigation’s conclusions, while limiting xAI’s ability to scrutinize the report’s scope or independence, per Reuters. He argued that introducing the law firm’s findings could encourage jurors to rely on the reputation of a prominent firm rather than independently evaluating the facts.

    OpenAI and the other defendants have denied wrongdoing in the case, according to Reuters. Representatives for both xAI and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has scheduled a March 13 hearing to consider Musk’s evidentiary objections and other pretrial matters before the case proceeds to trial in April, per Reuters.

    The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is titled Elon Musk et al v. Samuel Altman et al, No. 4:24-cv-04722-YGR. Musk is represented by Marc Toberoff of Toberoff & Associates and Steve Molo of MoloLamken. Altman and OpenAI are represented by Jordan Eth of Morrison & Foerster and William Savitt of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, according to Reuters.

    Source: Reuters