OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has rejected an offer from Elon Musk and his consortium to acquire the non-profit organisation that oversees OpenAI.
The bid, reportedly worth $97.4 billion, was led by Musk’s AI company, xAI, alongside other investors, including Baron Capital, Vy Capital, and 8VC.
Altman wasted no time in dismissing the proposal. Taking to X, he responded with a pointed comment: “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” His comment referenced the sharp decline in value of the social media platform since Musk purchased it for $44 billion in 2022.
Musk, known for his frequent online clashes, retaliated by posting a video of Altman’s 2023 testimony before Congress, captioning it “Scam Altman.” The two have long been at odds over OpenAI’s direction, with Musk advocating for an open-source approach while Altman steers the company towards commercial expansion.
This follows Musk’s issues against OpenAI and Altman, in which he accused them of straying from their original non-profit mission. Although he later dropped the lawsuit after internal emails surfaced showing he had been aware of OpenAI’s shift towards a for-profit model, he has remained vocal about the company’s trajectory.
“If OpenAI wants to go fully for-profit, it must fairly compensate the charity for what it’s taking,” said Marc Toberoff, Musk’s lawyer.
OpenAI, which was valued at $157 billion last year, has drawn huge investments, including a reported $40 billion deal with SoftBank. The firm is also linked to the $500 billion “Stargate” AI project, announced under former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Even with Musk’s persistence, OpenAI’s board has shown no interest in engaging with his offer. However, Musk’s investor group remains open to raising their bid, noting that this battle over OpenAI’s fate is far from over.
