Elon Musk’s attempt to take control of OpenAI with a $97.4 billion offer appears to have been turned down by the company's CEO, Sam Altman.
Reports from The Wall Street Journal on February 10 revealed that a group of investors led by Musk had approached OpenAI’s board with a takeover proposal.
Altman responded on X, saying, “No, thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want”.
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Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, fired back by posting a video of Altman’s 2023 congressional testimony, where he stated he held no equity in OpenAI. Musk captioned his post, “Scam Altman”.
Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit focused on artificial intelligence (AI) research. However, disagreements arose over the company’s shift toward a for-profit model. Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018, has been vocal about his opposition to the company’s direction.
Musk’s bid for OpenAI is supported by his AI firm, xAI, along with investment groups like Vy Capital, Baron Capital, and 8VC. Additionally, his attorney, Marc Toberoff, has stated that the group is prepared to match or exceed any competing offer.
Toberoff argued, "If Sam Altman and the present OpenAI Inc. Board of Directors are intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time".
Meanwhile, Musk recently raised concerns about the $500 billion Stargate project backed by President Donald Trump, OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle. What did he say? Read the full story.
