Technology entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Sam Altman are set to clash in federal court over allegations that OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission to pursue profit, according to reporting from LEX 18 News. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in Oakland, California, in a case that could reshape the artificial intelligence industry and determine control of technology valued at $852 billion.

Musk's civil lawsuit, filed in August 2024, accuses Altman and Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president, of betraying the company's founding vision as an altruistic steward of AI technology. Musk invested approximately $38 million in OpenAI between December 2015 and May 2017 before the company transitioned from a nonprofit to a for-profit structure.

OpenAI has dismissed the lawsuit as sour grapes designed to undercut the company's growth and benefit Musk's competing AI venture, xAI, which he launched in 2023. The company argues that Musk's claims lack merit and that his lawsuit is motivated by competitive interests rather than principle.

Originally seeking more than $100 billion in damages, Musk has scaled back his claims following adverse pre-trial rulings. He now seeks an unspecified amount directed to OpenAI's charitable foundation rather than personal compensation, with funds to come primarily from the company's for-profit operations and Microsoft, which became its largest investor.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will make the final decision, with the jury serving in an advisory capacity. The judge previously ruled that the case warrants a trial based on credibility questions about the witnesses, particularly regarding competing accounts from the two tech figures about OpenAI's mission and their falling out.

The trial is expected to detail the early days of the AI race and the deterioration of the relationship between Musk and Altman, who founded OpenAI together with the goal of developing artificial intelligence more responsibly than profit-driven tech giants. Evidence includes a February 2023 email exchange in which Altman told Musk his public attacks "really hurts," while Musk responded that "the fate of civilization is at stake."

The lawsuit also seeks Altman's removal from OpenAI's board. Musk cites Altman's firing and rehiring as CEO in 2023 as evidence of deceptive conduct that prompted his decision to stop funding the company.