A US federal judge has handed Elon Musk a procedural victory, barring his past ketamine use as evidence in his $134bn legal war against OpenAI.
The high-stakes legal war between Elon Musk and OpenAI has taken a fresh turn. A United States federal judge ruled on Friday that Musk’s past use of ketamine remains inadmissible as evidence.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers cleared the air during a hearing in Oakland, California, as the parties prepare for an April 28 trial.
The case centres on a fundamental dispute over the origins of the world’s leading artificial intelligence firm.
Musk alleges that CEO Sam Altman and Greg Brockman abandoned the company's original non-profit mandate after securing a $13 billion investment from Microsoft Corp.
The Tesla boss, who provided $38 million in seed funding a decade ago, claims this shift constitutes a blatant breach of the founding agreement.
Lawyers representing OpenAI and Microsoft sought to raise the billionaire’s history with ketamine to question his mental state during critical negotiations. The bench dismissed this line of inquiry.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers held that drug use is irrelevant to the proceedings without concrete proof of impaired judgment. She did, however, allow limited mentions of Musk’s attendance at the "Burning Man" festival, where Silicon Valley executives frequently interact.
Musk has previously maintained that his past ketamine use was for medicinal purposes under a valid prescription. He denies any recent recreational use.
The financial stakes in this matter are staggering. Musk is demanding up to $134 billion in damages, a figure that would rank among the largest verdicts in American history. His expert witness, financial economist C. Paul Wazzan, arrived at this sum by assessing OpenAI’s current market valuation.
The judge appeared unimpressed with the submission. She described the methodology as "not particularly persuasive," noting its unverifiable nature.
Furthermore, the court indicated that any jury determination on damages would likely be advisory. The bench will ultimately decide the final award, and punitive damages appear unlikely at this stage.
The trial promises to be a "who's who" of Silicon Valley stakeholders. The witness list features Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and potentially Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Musk himself will testify.
The court has stripped away the perks of status for these high-profile figures. All witnesses must use public entrances, and the warring parties must share the cost of providing lunches for the jury during deliberations. The focus remains fixed: did the co-founders misrepresent their intentions when they took Musk’s millions?
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