周一,一个由九人组成的陪审团一致裁定,埃隆·马斯克起诉 OpenAI 窃取其慈善事业的诉讼提交得太晚了。
马斯克于 2024 年起诉 OpenAI,称其让他成了“傻瓜”——他捐赠了 3800 万美元来启动 OpenAI 作为一家非营利组织,结果后来却被蒙在鼓里,OpenAI 成立了一个营利性部门,他认为此举掏空了慈善资金,却让山姆·奥尔特曼和格雷格·布罗克曼等高管中饱私囊。
但据《纽约时报》报道,陪审团认定,马斯克早在 2021 年就已了解 OpenAI 的重组计划,因此错过了要求他在三年内提起诉讼的诉讼时效。据《纽约时报》报道,由于马斯克提起诉讼的时间过晚,陪审团裁定奥尔特曼和布罗克曼对马斯克针对 OpenAI 提出的所有指控均不承担责任。陪审团也让微软免于担责,认定这家 OpenAI 的投资方在马斯克指控其协助 OpenAI 的敛财计划方面不存在任何责任。
据《纽约时报》报道,法官伊冯·冈萨雷斯·罗杰斯几乎立即同意了陪审团的裁决。
据《纽约时报》报道,她感谢了陪审团,并提醒他们,一旦他们觉得可以放心讨论此案,就可以“跟任何人谈论任何事情”。
据《纽约时报》报道,陪审团裁决宣布后,马斯克的律师团队看起来“瘫坐在椅子上”。这位亿万富翁的律师之一马克·托贝罗夫在庭审期间每天与媒体通电话,他迅速确认马斯克将提起上诉。
据《纽约时报》报道,裁决宣布时,奥尔特曼和布罗克曼并不在场。然而,据《纽约时报》报道,“OpenAI 一方有人露出了笑容”,OpenAI 的律师威廉·萨维特更是“咧嘴大笑”。萨维特花了数天时间在证人席上盘问马斯克,似乎利用了他曾担任马斯克律师的经验来激怒马斯克。
微软在一份声明中对胜诉表示庆祝,写道:“此案的事实和时间线早已明确,我们欢迎陪审团以诉讼时效已过为由驳回这些指控的决定。我们仍将致力于与 OpenAI 合作,为全球人民和组织推进和扩展人工智能技术。”
马斯克在完成证词陈述后没有返回法庭,判决宣读时也不在场。在判决结果出来之前,马斯克的律师为其道歉,因为马斯克无视法院要求他必须随时待命、以备案件需要进一步证词的命令。一个明显的迹象表明,马斯克对这场审判逐渐失去兴趣,他选择优先参加唐纳德·特朗普与中国国家主席习近平之间的峰会。
周一晚间,马斯克在 X 平台上发表声明写道:“关于 OpenAI 一案,法官和陪审团实际上从未就案件的是非曲直作出裁决,只是基于一个日程安排上的技术性问题。任何详细关注此案的人都毫无疑问地知道,奥特曼和布罗克曼确实通过窃取一家慈善机构中饱私囊。唯一的问题是,他们是什么时候干的!”
马斯克重申了他律师关于计划上诉的声明,写道:“我将向第九巡回上诉法院提出上诉,因为开创掠夺慈善机构的先例,对美国慈善捐赠事业的破坏性极大。”
本文已更新,加入了马斯克的声明。
Elon Musk took too long to file his lawsuit that accused OpenAI of stealing a charity, a nine-person jury unanimously decided Monday.
Musk sued OpenAI in 2024 for making a “fool” out of him after Musk donated $38 million to kick-start OpenAI as a nonprofit, only to later be blindsided when OpenAI created a for-profit arm that he felt gutted funding for the charity while enriching executives like Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
But the jury found that Musk was aware of OpenAI’s restructuring plans as early as 2021 and therefore missed the statute of limitations requiring him to bring the lawsuit within three years, The New York Times reported. Because Musk took too long to file the litigation, the jury deemed Altman and Brockman not liable for any of the claims that Musk brought against OpenAI, the NYT reported. The jury also let Microsoft off the hook, finding no liability for the OpenAI investor after Musk alleged they aided OpenAI’s get-rich scheme.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers almost instantly agreed with the jury’s decision, the NYT reported.
She thanked the jury and reminded them that they can talk to “anyone about anything” once they feel comfortable discussing the case, the NYT reported.
Musk’s legal team looked “sunken in their chairs” after the jury’s decision was announced, the NYT reported. One of the billionaire’s lawyers, Marc Toberoff, who hosted daily calls with press during the trial, quickly confirmed that Musk will appeal.
Altman and Brockman were not present when the verdict came in, the NYT reported. However, there were “a few smiles from the OpenAI side of the room,” with OpenAI attorney William Savitt wearing “a wide grin,” the NYT reported. Savitt spent days grilling Musk on the stand, seemingly taking advantage of his prior experience as Musk’s lawyer to get under Musk’s skin.
In a statement, Microsoft celebrated the win, writing, “The facts and the timeline in this case have long been clear, and we welcome the jury’s decision to dismiss these claims as untimely. We remain committed to our work with OpenAI to advance and scale AI for people and organizations around the world.”
Musk did not return to the courtroom after delivering his testimony and was also not there when the verdict was read. Before the verdict arrived, Musk’s lawyer apologized after Musk shirked a court order requiring him to be available in case any further testimony was needed in the case. In an apparent sign that he was losing interest in the trial, Musk prioritized attending a summit between Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping.
Late Monday, Musk issued a statement on X, writing, “Regarding the OpenAI case, the judge & jury never actually ruled on the merits of the case, just on a calendar technicality. There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!”
Musk reiterated his lawyer’s statement confirming he plans to appeal, writing, “I will be filing an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, because creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America.”
This story was updated to include Musk’s statement.