OPENAI Oakland’s Seat at the Table

On May 18, 2026, a federal jury in Oakland delivered a unanimous verdict: Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI was dismissed in its entirety. The case ended on statute-of-limitations grounds, concluding one of the most closely watched technology trials of the modern era. From inside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building, award-winning author and Black Press journalist Carol Denise Mitchell documented every stage of the legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

In OpenAI: Oakland’s Seat at the Table, Mitchell presents a clear, factual, and unembellished account of the testimony, documents, contradictions, and high stakes that defined the trial. She chronicles how a nine-member Oakland jury—ordinary citizens with no access to the power or privilege of the men before them—ultimately helped shape the future of artificial intelligence in America.

Their decision removed a major challenge facing OpenAI and preserved the trajectory of a technology poised to transform the world.

Part courtroom chronicle and part civic record, this book highlights Oakland’s role as the city where the world witnessed how close artificial intelligence came to a pivotal legal crossroads—and how the judicial process, guided by everyday citizens, helped determine its path forward.

With precision, professionalism, and cultural responsibility, Carol Denise Mitchell delivers a compelling account of a landmark trial and the moment Oakland claimed its seat at the table.