Elon Musk, after previously filing lawsuits against OpenAI, has now made a bold attempt to acquire the company. Recent reports indicate that Musk, along with a group of investors, approached CEO Sam Altman with a staggering $97 billion buyout offer. However, Altman firmly declined with a clear “no, thank you.”
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Musk and his investment group formally proposed to OpenAI’s board to take control of the company and return it to its original nonprofit status.
Marc Toberoff, Musk’s lawyer, stated, “If Sam Altman and the current board want OpenAI to become a fully for-profit company, it's essential that the foundation be fairly compensated for losing control of such groundbreaking technology.”
In response, Altman rejected the offer in a playful post on Musk’s social media platform, X: “No thanks, but we’d be willing to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you're interested.” This was a humorous jab at Musk's $44 billion purchase of Twitter, now X, in 2022.
Musk’s offer came after suing OpenAI twice in 2024. The first lawsuit, in July, accused the company of straying from its founding principles, particularly its shift toward a more commercial, profit-driven structure. Musk argued that this change jeopardized OpenAI's mission, exposing it to corporate control rather than prioritizing the greater good for humanity.
In August 2024, Musk filed a second lawsuit, accusing OpenAI of racing to develop powerful “artificial general intelligence” technology to “maximize profits.” He also accused the company of engaging in racketeering.
Musk's legal battles with OpenAI stem from growing tensions between him and the organization he co-founded. Musk was one of OpenAI's early backers, supporting its mission as a nonprofit focused on AI research. However, over time, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the company’s direction, particularly after it adopted a capped-profit model, which he believed compromised its original mission. Musk has also voiced concerns about OpenAI's leadership and its potential influence over AI technology.
