OpenAI Rejects Elon Musk’s $97.4 Billion Bid to Control the Company
San Francisco:Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has informed employees that the company has no intention of considering Elon Musk’s hypothetical bid to acquire OpenAI’s controlling non-profit entity. According to media reports, Musk’s consortium, which includes his AI startup X.AI and several investment firms, offered $97.4 billion to take control of OpenAI.
In a response on Musk’s platform X (formerly Twitter), Altman rejected the offer, humorously suggesting that Musk could instead purchase Twitter for $9.74 billion. Musk responded by referring to Altman as “Scheme Altman” in a sarcastic reply.
Elon Musk has long criticized OpenAI, arguing that the organization has deviated from its original mission as an open-source, non-profit AI research body. Musk resigned from OpenAI’s board in 2018 and even filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that OpenAI was prioritizing profits over public interest. According to Musk’s lawyer, Alex Tobroff, the tech billionaire had provided around $45 million in financial support before leaving the organization.
The global prominence of OpenAI grew significantly after the success of ChatGPT in 2022, which also intensified internal conflicts. In late 2023, OpenAI’s board fired Sam Altman, only to bring him back shortly after to lead a restructuring effort.
In January, after taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a $500 billion infrastructure investment plan aimed at boosting AI development, with support from major companies including SoftBank, Oracle, and OpenAI.
Musk’s ongoing disagreements with OpenAI and his attempts to take control reflect a broader debate over the future direction and mission of the company, which continues to influence the AI landscape.
