Elon Musk flies to Hawthorne the week of the OpenAI trial's closing arguments

Elon Musk flew his Gulfstream G800, tail N8628, from Los Angeles International to Jack Northrop Field in Hawthorne on May 15, a 23-minute hop that landed at 3:33 p.m. UTC. The short flight from KLAX to KHHR, a few miles southeast, is a familiar routing for the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, whose rocket factory sits adjacent to the Hawthorne airfield.

The same week, Musk was notably absent from the Oakland federal courtroom where his lawsuit against OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman went to closing arguments. As CNBC and NBC News reported, Musk was in Beijing accompanying President Donald Trump on a state visit, prompting his lead counsel to apologize to the jury. The trial, which alleges Altman and Brockman violated a charitable trust by converting OpenAI to a for-profit entity, now awaits jury deliberations beginning Monday.

Musk's recent flight patterns show heavy cross-country movement: he flew from Austin to New York on May 13, then to Los Angeles the following day, before this Hawthorne arrival. The brief hop suggests a return to SpaceX's backyard after a week of legal and diplomatic obligations, rather than a newsworthy event at the destination itself.