• Elon Musk publicly stated his intent to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals following the verdict against him in the OpenAI case on May 18, 2026¹²³.
• Musk posted on X that he would be "filing an appeal with the Ninth Circuit, because creating a precedent to loot charities is incredibly destructive to charitable giving in America"².
• His legal team confirmed the appeal plan; his lead counsel Steven Molo reserved the right to appeal directly to the judge, though the judge expressed skepticism about its merit²¹.
• Musk characterized the loss as a "calendar technicality" rather than a ruling on the merits, stating the jury and judge never ruled on whether Altman and Brockman enriched themselves by "stealing a charity"³².

Overall validity: 98%

1. Musk slams Altman trial verdict as a 'technicality,' vows to appeal
2. Live Updates: Jury Rejects Musk's Claims Against OpenAI
3. Elon Musk Vows to Appeal After Losing His Lawsuit Against OpenAI - Business Insider