An investor group led by Musk offered almost $100 billion to buy OpenAI.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, a group of investors led by Elon Musk made an offer to buy the non-profit organization controlling OpenAI for $97.4 billion. In a statement, the X owner explained that the goal was to bring OpenAI back “to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was.”
This move didn’t come out of nowhere, as there had already been an ongoing dispute between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Musk's Alleged Attempt To Turn OpenAI Non-Profit-Oriented
In March 2024, Musk sued OpenAI – the company behind ChatGPT – claiming it had abandoned its altruistic origins after establishing a for-profit subsidiary in 2019, following his departure from the company he co-founded. He stated that he wants to return OpenAI to “its mission to develop AGI for the benefit of humanity”.
Musk's Attempts To Turn OpenAI Profit-Oriented
On the other hand, OpenAI released a statement in December 2024, alleging that Musk had actually pushed for a for-profit structure back in 2017, before his departure, and had demanded the role of CEO in the new division.
After OpenAI rejected Musk's proposal, citing concerns that “as the company makes genuine progress towards AGI, you will choose to retain your absolute control of the company despite current intent to the contrary,” Musk responded with another deal involving Tesla to facilitate fundraising – an offer that was also rejected. This ultimately led to his resignation and the founding of his own competing AI venture, xAI.
Although OpenAI CEO Altman made it very clear that Musk’s latest offer was also rejected, concerns remain.
Given this backstory – and Musk’s close ties to Trump – one has to wonder whether this latest attempt to take control of one of the most significant AI tools available to the public is truly driven by altruistic motives.
Do you think Musk is honest about bringing OpenAI back to a non-profit structure? Or do you think he has other plans? Let us know in the comments!