Elon Musk returns to Bay Area during second week of OpenAI trial

Elon Musk flew from Seattle's Paine Field to Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, California, aboard his Gulfstream G550 on May 11, 2026. The 1-hour-44-minute hop covered the familiar West Coast route at a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet, landing just after 5:30 p.m. local time. It's a quick jaunt for the peripatetic billionaire, whose fleet logs hundreds of flights annually.

The timing aligns with the ongoing trial of Musk's 2024 lawsuit against OpenAI, now in its second week of testimony in San Francisco federal court. Per a Reuters report on May 6, former OpenAI executives testified about internal chaos under CEO Sam Altman, while Musk himself took the stand earlier, warning of AI's existential risks. A New York Times update from May 8 detailed the case's focus on OpenAI's shift to for-profit status, which Musk claims betrays its founding nonprofit mission. With settlement talks faltering just before proceedings began, as noted in a CNN filing from May 4, Musk's presence underscores his personal stake in reshaping AI governance.

This Bay Area visit fits a pattern of recent shuttles: Musk was in the region on May 8 before heading north to Seattle, then back south just days later. His history in Silicon Valley, from Tesla's early days to xAI's launch, keeps drawing him despite his Austin base and Texas-focused ventures. Even post-DOGE, such trips hint at unfinished business in the tech heartland.