SAN FRANCISCO (LN) — U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on April 17 issued a sweeping pretrial order in Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, bifurcating the trial into separate liability and remedies phases, slashing each side's courtroom time, and demanding Musk file a verified waiver swearing he will not direct any disgorgement recovery to himself, his company xAI, or any fund he controls.
The order sets a liability phase before an advisory jury, with Musk and the OpenAI defendants each allotted 22 hours — covering opening statements through closing arguments — and Microsoft, also a defendant, given 5 hours. The remedies phase, to be decided by the court alone, is expected to begin around May 18, 2026.
Gonzalez Rogers trained particular scrutiny on Musk's amended notice of remedies, in which Musk stated he will not seek, either at trial or in equitable proceedings afterwards, a remedy directed to benefiting himself personally, and that any assets obtained at the charity's expense belong to the OpenAI charity and must be returned to it. The judge said she has significant reservations about those statements given Musk's causes of action, prior rulings barring him from asserting claims on behalf of the nonprofit, and his prior litigation conduct.
The judge ordered Musk to file a verified waiver by April 20 or face the consequences of continuing without one — a deadline that has already passed.
At the April 17 pretrial conference, Musk's counsel floated the possibility of voluntarily dismissing the fraud and constructive fraud claims. Gonzalez Rogers ordered Musk to file either a notice of dismissal or a statement explaining why he is keeping those claims, also by April 20.
The order bars all parties, counsel, and witnesses from mentioning any specific remedy — including disgorgement amounts, intended recipients, or the scope of injunctive relief — during the liability phase. The court carved out an exception for evidence of Musk's motive in bringing the lawsuit and evidence bearing on any element of a claim or defense.
On witnesses, the court granted stipulations concerning Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and former OpenAI executive Mira Murati but refused to allow remote testimony from Tasha McCauley, leaving the parties to introduce her deposition if she cannot appear live. The court also barred damages expert Dr. Wazzan from testifying before the advisory jury, ruling his opinions are relevant only to remedies.
If the jury finds that Musk filed outside the statute of limitations, Gonzalez Rogers signaled she would likely accept that finding and direct a verdict for the defendants — a single sentence in the order that encapsulates the existential risk Musk faces before the remedies phase ever begins.
Musk's amended notice of remedies states that any recovered assets belong to the OpenAI charity and must be returned to it — a framing the judge has now put directly on trial, ordering Musk to back it up with a sworn filing or abandon it.