New court documents claim OpenAI quietly changed its governance rules during its 2025 transition toward a for-profit structure, making it significantly harder to remove CEO Sam Altman from power.
According to filings submitted by lawyers connected to Elon Musk’s lawsuit against the company, OpenAI adopted new bylaws in October 2025 that protect the CEO from being easily ousted by the board.
The documents state that under the revised structure, the CEO can remain in charge as long as they maintain support from at least one-third of the for-profit entity’s board members.
The analysis was reportedly prepared in November 2025 by an expert witness working with Musk’s legal team. The changes come after the dramatic 2023 leadership crisis in which Sam Altman was suddenly fired by OpenAI’s board before being reinstated just days later following backlash from employees, investors, and partners.