tech
February 26, 2026
Musk has no proof OpenAI stole xAI trade secrets, judge rules, tossing lawsuit
Even twisting an ex-employee’s text to favor xAI’s reading fails to sway judge.
TL;DR
- A judge granted OpenAI's motion to dismiss xAI's lawsuit, finding insufficient evidence of misconduct.
- xAI accused OpenAI of poaching eight employees and unlawfully seeking trade secrets related to its Grok chatbot and data centers.
- The judge stated xAI failed to prove OpenAI induced employees to steal trade secrets or that stolen secrets were used by OpenAI.
- While some employees admitted to downloading confidential information, the judge found most accusations weak.
- xAI is permitted to amend its complaint to address the deficiencies identified by the court.
- The ruling reinforces that hiring from competitors is not inherently illegal trade secret misappropriation unless the receiving company uses the stolen information.
- xAI's claims hinged on proving OpenAI's direct involvement in trade secret theft, which the court found unsupported by evidence.
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