Elon Musk is spearheading an investment group aiming to purchase OpenAI’s controlling nonprofit for $97.4 billion, marking a significant move in his ongoing dispute with the ChatGPT developer, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, confirmed that he submitted the offer to OpenAI’s board of directors.
In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared to reject the bid with a sarcastic remark on X, formerly known as Twitter. “No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” Altman wrote.
Musk, who acquired X in 2022 for $44 billion, fired back with a single-word response: “Swindler.” His attorney has not issued further comments on the matter.
Musk, a key ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has been locked in a long-standing feud with Altman, having filed multiple lawsuits against OpenAI. Despite co-founding OpenAI in 2015, Musk departed in 2018 and later established his own AI company, xAI, in 2023.
“We created a bespoke structure: a for-profit, controlled by the non-profit, with a capped profit share for investors and employees,” OpenAI stated in a December blog post, detailing its transition to a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation.
This shift, the company explained, aims to balance shareholder, stakeholder, and public interests.
Meanwhile, OpenAI remains one of the world’s most valuable startups, though it continues to incur significant costs in developing advanced AI models.
In January, Trump announced a landmark $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative, known as Stargate, involving Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, cloud computing giant Oracle, and OpenAI.
During a White House event, Trump stated, “The venture will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States.” The event was attended by Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
However, Musk quickly cast doubt on the project, questioning the availability of the promised funds.
His skepticism marked a rare public disagreement with Trump, despite Musk’s significant financial support for the Republican’s re-election campaign, contributing $270 million.
