Musk loses in court, Home Depot earnings, DOJ's 'lawfare' fund and more in Morning Squawk

A combination photo shows CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman (L) on April 28, 2026 and Elon Musk on April 29, 2026 during the trial in Elon Musk's lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse in Oakland, California, U.S.

Manuel Orbegozo | Reuters

After less than two hours of deliberations, a jury decided that Tesla CEO Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI's Sam Altman fell outside the three-year statute of limitations. The advisory verdict, which was immediately adopted by the judge, ends the three-week trial and the years-long saga that's gripped Silicon Valley.

Here's what to know:

• Musk said in a social media post that he would appeal the decision, writing that the ruling was based on a "calendar technicality."
• After Steven Molo, Musk's lawyer, reserved the billionaire's right to appeal, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she was prepared to dismiss it "on the spot."
• Counsel for OpenAI and Microsoft — which was also named a defendant in Musk's suit — celebrated as they exited the Oakland, California courtroom.
• Musk and Altman's relationship wasn't always fraught. CNBC's Ashley Capoot and Lora Kolodny explain how the pair went from close friends to bitter rivals.
• The tech world will now turn its attention to another court battle: Oral arguments in Anthropic's lawsuit against the Justice Department over its blacklisting begin today.

An exterior view of a Seagate office on October 26, 2022 in Fremont, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

A Home Depot logo is displayed at one of their stores in San Diego, Nov. 8, 2025.

Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Home Depot beat first-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines this morning. The retailer also reaffirmed its guidance for the full year, pointing to strength in its core homeowner shopper despite rising gas prices, falling consumer confidence and a broken housing market.

"The homeowner in a relevant sense is perhaps more protected financially than other customer cohorts and so we continue to see engagement," CFO Richard McPhail told CNBC in an interview.

The report kicks off a big week for retailer earnings: Competitor Lowe's, along with Target and Walmart, are all slated to report quarterly results in the coming days. Wall Street has been wary of the sector as surging gas prices fuel concern about the health of the consumer.

Kevin Warsh, nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve, arrives for his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen building, April 21, 2026.

Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Mark your calendars: President Donald Trump will swear in Kevin Warsh as the chair of the Federal Reserve on Friday, a White House official told CNBC.

Warsh will become the 11th chair of the central bank in its modern era, as well as the wealthiest person to ever lead the Fed. Under the new regulations for Fed officials, he will have to divest many of the investments in his portfolio.

Trump has made it clear that he expects a Warsh-led Fed to lower interest rates. But Yardeni Research's Ed Yardeni said Warsh may have to do the opposite and raise rates at the central bank's July meeting to placate "Bond Vigilantes."

A large image of U.S. President Donald Trump hangs from the the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building on May 18, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

Trump dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service yesterday. In exchange, the Department of Justice said it will create a $1.8 billion fund to settle claims by people who say they are victims of "lawfare."

The "Anti-Weaponization Fund" will receive money from the Justice Department's judgment fund, which allows the organization to settle and pay out cases. The department said it would stop processing claims for the AWF no later than December 2028.

A spokesman for Trump's legal team said in a statement that the president settled the suit — which he brought against the IRS in January over the leak of his tax information by an agency employee — "squarely for the benefit of the American people." Democrats blasted the agreement, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts calling it "corruption on steroids."

— CNBC's Lora Kolodny, Jeffrey Kopp, Ashley Capoot, Sean Conlon, Tobias Burns, Jeff Cox, Dan Mangan and Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.

CJ Haddad assisted in the production of this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.

Correction: Anduril was the No. 1 company on CNBC's 2025 Disruptor 50 list. A previous version of this newsletter misstated that fact.