Judge Dismisses Musk’s Trade-Secret Case Against OpenAI, But Leaves Door Open to Revised Complaint

The case is part of an escalating public feud between tech billionaires Elon Musk and Sam Altman, co-founders of OpenAI.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Building a Legacy: Remembering Charlie Kirk Memorial event at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Sept. 21, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) startup xAI accusing OpenAI of poaching employees to obtain trade secrets, but gave xAI an opportunity to try again.

In an opinion issued on Feb. 24, Judge Rita Lin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a request by OpenAI, led by CEO Sam Altman, to toss the case, finding that xAI had not adequately show alleged wrongdoing by the ChatGPT maker.