Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to Decide Musk-Altman OpenAI Lawsuit

Elon Musk's $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI faces a decisive ruling from US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in a California court.

The world's richest man, with a net worth over three-quarters of a trillion dollars, co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman. Musk left three years later after a power struggle. He accuses them of breaching charitable trust and unjust enrichment over OpenAI's 2019 launch of a for-profit arm, three years before ChatGPT debuted and sparked the commercial AI market. OpenAI says Musk sues to benefit his startup xAI.

Gonzalez Rogers, 61, from southern Texas, brings a no-nonsense style to high-profile Big Tech cases on her Oakland bench. "I think it's a function of the fact that she's now so experienced – nothing's going to faze her," said Michael Rhodes, a retired Cooley LLP partner and former colleague.

Last week, during testimony, Musk acted as his own counsel and accused OpenAI lawyer William Savitt of leading questions. "That's not how it works," Gonzalez Rogers interjected. She allowed Savitt to lead as cross-examination and told Musk, "Let's remind everyone in the courtroom that you are not a lawyer."

"I am not a lawyer," Musk replied. "Well, technically I did take Law 101 in school," he added, drawing laughter from the gallery. He then agreed: "Yes – I am not a lawyer."

"It does make an interesting juxtaposition. He's the wealthiest man in the world. He's used to being on top. She's definitely on top now. She's in charge," said courtroom artist Vicki Behringer, who has sketched several of Gonzalez Rogers's cases, including this one.

Commentators call her tough but fair, in total command. "She wants everybody to be treated exactly the same under the law," Rhodes said. He has represented both Musk and OpenAI in the past.

A nine-person advisory jury expects to decide by month's end, but its verdict binds no one. Gonzalez Rogers makes the final call. "That changes the whole landscape," said plaintiffs lawyer Jay Edelson, who has OpenAI wrongful death suits pending before her. "It really means that this is completely her show."

Her docket includes Musk vs. Altman plus multi-district litigation consolidating social media addiction suits by school districts and states against Meta, Snap, TikTok and Google. She handled Epic Games' antitrust case against Apple, where the Fortnite maker charged Apple forced App Store developers to use its payment system.

Last year, Gonzalez Rogers ruled an Apple executive "outright lied" under oath and referred the matter to the US Attorney for the Northern District of California. An appeals court upheld her contempt finding but reversed her ban on Apple commissions from third-party payments. This week, Apple asked the Supreme Court to stay that ruling, which would send the case back to her for a fair commission rate.

Appointed to her lifetime federal bench in 2011 by President Barack Obama, Gonzalez Rogers attended Princeton University. She cleaned houses and cut grass on breaks to pay tuition, as Senator Dianne Feinstein noted at confirmation hearings. After law school, she spent over a decade in private practice, made partner, then won appointment as a superior court judge by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

She declined BBC interview requests through a spokesperson.

Since the trial started in late April, Gonzalez Rogers runs a tight ship. Proceedings begin at 8 a.m. sharp, with two 20-minute breaks but no lunch. She thanks jurors often for their service and attention. "If you get cranky with family, just know it's because you're tired," she told them.

Rhodes calls her "wickedly funny," though self-deprecating. She told the court her kids say her jokes are bad and lawyers laugh out of obligation. When a microphone failed last week, she quipped, "What can I tell you? We are funded by the federal government," drawing real laughs.

With parties and counsel, she stays all business. Early in trial, she scolded Musk for X posts calling Altman "Scam Altman." "Let's just try it, gentlemen. Let's just try it and see if we can make things work."

At a March pretrial hearing, she said high-profile players get no special treatment, though Musk and others use a private entrance after standard security to dodge reporters. She bars scientific theorizing. After jurors left, when Musk invoked The Terminator on AI, she said, "You've made your little statement. But that's it."