SAN FRANCISCO, USA — In a stunning move that could reshape the artificial intelligence industry, Elon Musk and a group of investors have offered $97.4 billion to acquire OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
The bid, first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Monday, February 10, 2025, would give Musk majority control over OpenAI, a company he co-founded but later parted ways with due to disagreements over its direction.
Musk vs. Altman: A Longstanding Feud
Musk has been a vocal critic of OpenAI’s leadership, particularly CEO Sam Altman, whom he accuses of abandoning the company’s original mission of making AI open-source and nonprofit.
Musk has filed multiple legal complaints against OpenAI and Altman, alleging that the company misrepresented itself as a philanthropy while pivoting toward profit-driven ventures.
OpenAI operates under a complex corporate structure where a nonprofit board controls a for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI LP, which has grown from an effectively worthless startup to a $100 billion AI powerhouse.
The Investors’ Vision for OpenAI
Marc Toberoff, the attorney representing Musk’s investor group, issued a statement emphasizing the need to restore OpenAI’s original mission:
“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.”
Toberoff added, “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.”
Altman’s Response: A Playful Rejection
Altman, known for his sharp wit on social media, dismissed the bid with a sarcastic counteroffer on X (formerly Twitter), “No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want
— Sam Altman (@sama) February 10, 2025
His remark referenced Musk’s chaotic 2022 acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, which he later admitted was overpriced.
What’s Next?
The proposed takeover bid could trigger intense negotiations and legal battles, with OpenAI’s nonprofit board holding significant influence over any major structural changes.
Industry analysts predict that if Musk gains control of OpenAI, it could result in:
- A return to open-source AI models, in direct competition with Google DeepMind and Anthropic.
- A merger or partnership with Musk’s own AI venture, X.AI, which is developing Grok, an AI chatbot integrated into X (formerly Twitter).
- Regulatory scrutiny over antitrust concerns, given Musk’s vast influence in AI, social media, and technology.
For now, OpenAI’s leadership has made it clear that they are not interested in selling—but with nearly $100 billion at stake, the power struggle for AI’s future is far from over.
