Elon Musk and Team Submit Bold $97.4B Bid to Take Over OpenAI
A team of investors led by Elon Musk has submitted a $97.6 billion bid to acquire OpenAI. The news, confirmed by Musk’s lawyer Marc Toberoff to The Wall Street Journal, signals the latest escalation in the ongoing conflict between Musk and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman.
The Background
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 alongside Altman and others, has been publicly critical of the organization’s shift from its original nonprofit status to a for-profit model. In 2024, Musk filed a legal injunction against this transition, accusing OpenAI of straying from its founding principles of open-source collaboration and AI safety.
The unsolicited bid is being positioned as an effort to “refocus OpenAI on open-sourced AI,” according to Musk. He stated through Toberoff, “It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was. We will make sure that happens.”
Musk’s Vision for OpenAI
The billionaire entrepreneur’s AI firm, xAI, is also involved in the bid, fueling speculation about a potential merger if the acquisition is successful. Musk referenced xAI’s Grok model, emphasizing its alignment with the original values of OpenAI. “At xAI, we live by the values I was promised OpenAI would follow,” Musk explained. “We’ve made Grok open source, and we respect the rights of content creators.”
By acquiring OpenAI, Musk aims to reinstate its mission to develop safe, open-source AI technologies that prioritize societal benefit over profit.
Altman’s Response
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s current CEO, responded to the bid with a cheeky post on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” The comment playfully references Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022.
What’s Next?
The potential acquisition raises numerous questions about the future of OpenAI, xAI, and the AI industry as a whole. While Musk’s team is framing the bid as a return to OpenAI’s original mission, critics speculate that this could be part of Musk’s broader strategy to consolidate power in the rapidly advancing AI sector.
As of now, OpenAI has not released an official statement regarding the offer. However, the proposed acquisition could have significant implications for the trajectory of AI development and the balance of power among key industry players.
