Court Rejects Elon Musk's Request to Halt OpenAI's Profit Shift but Expedites Trial

A US judge has dismissed Elon Musk's request to immediately halt OpenAI's operations as a for-profit company. However, the judge agreed to expedite the trial process, with the case expected to be heard in court between September and November 2025. Notably, Elon Musk initially filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in February 2024, accusing the company of violating its original mission by transitioning to a profit-driven model.

Following a series of legal battles, including temporarily withdrawing the lawsuit and subsequently refiling it in August 2024, Musk sought a preliminary injunction to immediately stop OpenAI's transformation into a for-profit entity while the lawsuit was ongoing. In fact, in December 2024, a non-profit organization called Encode also requested permission to file a brief supporting Musk’s injunction to block OpenAI's shift toward profitability.

However, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected the request for a preliminary injunction, stating that Musk failed to meet the 'high standard' required for such an order. At the same time, she acknowledged public interest in the case and agreed to accelerate the trial.

While the rejection of the injunction allows OpenAI to continue its transition to a for-profit model without immediate legal obstacles, the expedited trial provides Elon Musk with an opportunity to challenge OpenAI's restructuring.

According to details of the transition shared by ChatGPT's creator, if OpenAI successfully transitions to a for-profit structure, its non-profit division will remain but lose control over daily operations. Instead, it will hold shares in the for-profit entity, which will be valued by independent financial advisors, and focus on charitable work in healthcare, education, and science. Meanwhile, the for-profit entity will oversee the company's operations and business activities.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a non-profit organization with the mission of developing artificial intelligence that benefits humanity. Since then, OpenAI has shifted to a for-profit structure to attract more capital and maintain competitiveness within the AI industry. Notably, Elon Musk—co-founder of OpenAI—left the organization in 2018 due to disagreements over its direction. He later founded a competing AI company, xAI, in 2023.

Earlier last month, a consortium led by Elon Musk proposed a $97.4 billion acquisition of OpenAI’s controlling non-profit entity. In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman rejected the offer, posting on X: "No, thank you. But if you're willing, we'll buy Twitter for $9.74 billion."