Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc., attended the 60th U.S. presidential inauguration at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Monday, January 20, 2025. The event was captured by photographer Chip Somodevilla for Bloomberg/Getty Images.
Elon Musk and his group have made a staggering $97.4 billion offer to take over OpenAI, reigniting tensions with CEO Sam Altman. This bid follows Musk’s lawsuit against the AI company, challenging its shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit organization.
Altman swiftly responded on X, rejecting the offer and sarcastically proposing to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion instead. This exchange highlights the ongoing power struggle between the two tech leaders, whose history dates back to co-founding OpenAI in 2015 before Musk’s departure.
Musk has repeatedly criticized OpenAI’s current trajectory. He recently slammed the company’s $500 billion Stargate project, which was announced with much fanfare at the White House after Donald Trump’s return to office. He claims the project lacks proper financial backing and that OpenAI has drifted from its original mission of open-source AI development.
In his press statement, Musk emphasized the need to restore OpenAI to its original vision, saying, “It’s time for OpenAI to return to being a safety-focused force for good.”
The deal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, would be backed by Musk’s AI startup, xAI. If successful, OpenAI and xAI could merge, forming a new AI powerhouse. However, such a massive acquisition would require Musk and his partners to secure an enormous amount of funding.
OpenAI is currently one of the world’s most valuable private companies, with a valuation of $157 billion as of October. Meanwhile, SoftBank is in talks to lead a separate $40 billion funding round that could push OpenAI’s valuation to $300 billion, making Musk’s takeover attempt an even bigger challenge.
Musk has long been vocal about OpenAI’s shift toward profit-making. His lawsuit claims that Altman and other founders initially sought his funding for a nonprofit AI initiative but later prioritized commercial interests. OpenAI, on the other hand, insists that transitioning to a for-profit model is necessary to secure funding for advanced AI development.
Neither OpenAI nor Musk’s legal team has responded to media inquiries regarding the bid. Microsoft, a major OpenAI investor, also remains silent on the matter.
While Musk’s takeover attempt may seem ambitious, the battle for OpenAI’s future is far from over. If he succeeds, it could reshape the AI landscape and spark new developments in the industry. However, given OpenAI’s soaring valuation and its existing investors, Musk faces an uphill battle in his quest to reclaim control.
