A new drama is unfolding in the tech industry as Elon Musk has made a bold attempt to acquire OpenAI, offering a staggering $97.4 billion. The billionaire-led consortium aims to restore the company to its founding principles of openness and AI safety.
Sam Altman, the current CEO of OpenAI, responded to Musk’s offer in an unorthodox manner. In a succinct post on X, he simply wrote, “No, thank you,” and immediately countered with a tongue-in-cheek proposal—offering to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion.
Tensions between the former partners have been simmering for years. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015, parted ways with the organization before it rose to its current prominence. In 2023, he launched his own AI venture, xAI, which, according to The Wall Street Journal, could potentially merge with OpenAI if the acquisition goes through.
OpenAI is currently on the brink of significant structural changes, as it prepares to transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity. Its leadership justifies the shift as a necessary move to secure funding for the development of cutting-edge AI models.
In response, Musk has taken legal action against OpenAI and Altman. His lawsuit claims that the company’s founders initially sought his financial support for a nonprofit initiative dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity—not for commercial gain. He now argues that OpenAI has veered off course, prioritizing profit over its original mission.
The dispute escalated further following the announcement of Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure project unveiled at the White House after Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. The joint initiative by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank aims to establish a nationwide network of supercomputer-powered data centers in the United States. Musk has publicly questioned whether the project’s backers can deliver the necessary funding.
“It’s time for OpenAI to return to what it was meant to be—a driving force for progress, built on the principles of open-source development and safety. We will ensure that happens,” Musk declared in a press release.
Following Altman’s rejection, Musk resorted to personal attacks, dubbing his former colleague “Scam Altman” and posting a video of Altman’s congressional testimony, in which he discussed his relatively modest salary as OpenAI’s CEO.
no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want
— Sam Altman (@sama) February 10, 2025
OpenAI currently boasts a formidable market valuation. After its October funding round, the company was valued at $157 billion, making it one of the most valuable private firms in the world. Moreover, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is in discussions for a new funding round of up to $40 billion, which could push OpenAI’s valuation as high as $300 billion.
Representatives from OpenAI, Musk’s legal counsel Marc Toberoff, and Microsoft—one of OpenAI’s largest investors—have thus far refrained from commenting on the takeover bid.
For a deal of this magnitude, Musk and his consortium would need to secure an astronomical sum, even before factoring in potential antitrust scrutiny.
