· Company action
Musk-led group offers $97.4bn for OpenAI; board rejects it as an attempt to 'disrupt his competition'
What he said or did
A consortium led by Musk made an unsolicited $97.4 billion offer to buy OpenAI and return it to an open-source, safety-focused force,
while Musk's xAI competed with OpenAI and his lawsuit against it was pending.
Background
OpenAI was seeking to restructure into a for-profit company, which Musk was challenging in court.
Official response
Sam Altman replied no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.
Board chair Bret Taylor said OpenAI is not for sale
and that the board had unanimously rejected Mr. Musk's latest attempt to disrupt his competition.
Musk's lawyer Marc Toberoff said: They're just selling it to themselves at a fraction of what Musk has offered.
What happened next
On 14 February 2025 OpenAI's board unanimously rejected the offer. In its April 2025 counterclaim OpenAI called the bid a sham.
Sources
- CNN (via KTVZ)14 Feb 2025
- Reuters (via South China Morning Post)15 Feb 2025
This entry records what was publicly said or done, as reported by the sources above. Quotes are attributed to the person who made them.
