OpenAI Board Rejects Elon Musk’s $97.4 Billion Bid to Purchase the Company

By Evans Momodu
4 minute digest
Updated 12:09 UK(GMT) 17 February, 2025

OpenAI's board of directors has formally turned down Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion offer to purchase the Artificial Intelligence company.

In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, OpenAI Board Chair Bret Taylor announced, “OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition.”

This decision marks the latest development in an ongoing conflict between Musk and OpenAI over the company’s restructuring plans.

OpenAI was founded as a non-profit research lab with a for-profit arm, with Musk among its original founders alongside CEO Sam Altman. However, OpenAI is seeking a restructuring that could streamline fundraising and boost returns for investors and employees.

Musk has criticised this restructuring as a departure from OpenAI’s non-profit mission. To counter this, a group of investors led by Musk recently proposed purchasing the company and returning it to an “open-source, safety-focused force.” This move had the potential to shake up the AI industry and bolster Musk’s influence, as he is already the owner of AI competitor xAI.

Sam Altman, meanwhile, faces increasing pressure to turn OpenAI into a more profit-oriented venture. Musk's unsolicited bid has complicated the already challenging transition.

On Monday, Altman responded to Musk’s offer by posting on X, “No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

In his statement on Friday, Bret Taylor, who also led Twitter’s board when Musk took over that company, reiterated OpenAI’s commitment to its mission: “Any potential reorganisation of OpenAI will strengthen our nonprofit and its mission to ensure Artificial General Intelligence benefits all of humanity.”

Musk’s lawyer, Marc Toberoff, stated the rejection was expected following Altman’s earlier comments but was still surprised that the board had dismissed the bid.

He raised concerns that the board, which is responsible for fiduciary duties, was not fully considering the offer. “They’re just selling it to themselves at a fraction of what Musk has offered,” he remarked. “Will someone please explain how that benefits ‘all of humanity’?”

OpenAI, for its part, has suggested that Musk's actions are driven by resentment over his departure from the company. Musk left OpenAI in 2018 following an unsuccessful push to have Tesla acquire the company.

During an interview at the AI Summit in Paris on Tuesday, Sam Altman remarked on Musk's continued involvement: “I wish he would just compete by building a better product.”
Source: CNN