Elon Musk alongside other co-investors has launched a $97.4bn offering for the organisation residing over OpenAI. This is seemingly an attempt to maintain the non-for-profit status, as opposed to shifting towards a for-profit entity envisioned by current CEO, Sam Altman.
Musk, a previous Co-founder of Open AI, has been a vocal critic of its evolving business model. He argues that OpenAI has abandoned its original mission, instead becoming increasingly commercialised and closely aligned with Microsoft. His latest bid reflects an effort to reclaim influence over the company’s trajectory, though critics suggest it likely signals a strategic power move that could disrupt the AI industry.
Elon Musk left the company in 2018 after having invested tens of millions of dollars into the start-up. However, he has since launched lawsuits in March last year at the company for abandoning its original mission as it shifts towards a profiting organisation. More recently, in December, Open AI in a published blog post cited the decision to transition away from a public benefit corporation as “We once again need to raise more capital than we’d imagined”.
Leading his Co-founders, Musk already competes with OpenAI through his own AI venture, xAI, most noticeably powering X’s (formerly Twitter) generative AI known as Grok. However, his group’s offer was turned down on Musk’s social media platform X, briefly after the Wall Street Journal broke the news. In a post, Altman made the following remark, “no thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want”, with Musk quipping in response by naming the CEO a “swindler”.
Furthermore, Open AI released documents in December revealing Musk’s prior interest in supporting the transformation of OpenAI into a for-profit, but left due to an inability to control it. Now, it seems Musk has made a U-turn on this position, with Toberoff reporting Musk’s investor group is prepared to match or exceed any bids for the platform, stating he will ensure that OpenAI returns to the “open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was”.
On the 4th of February, the Chairman of OpenAI’s board of directors Bret Taylor, dismissed Musk’s offer, averring that “OpenAI’s not for sale” at a summit hosted by the Wall Street Journal. According to nonprofit law professor at New York University, Harvey Dale, the bid is a “fair price”, an outcome that seems to be highly improbable.
The implications of such a deal would be industry-wide and would see the AI space refurbished in common Musk fashion. The most likely outcome if Musk proves successful in his goals, would see the integration of xAI and Open AI. However, there are several key consequences to consider. Tensions with Microsoft could arise as their investment and integration with OpenAI could be jeopardised, leading to a shift in AI market alliances. Furthermore, Talent Retention Issues may become apparent as a Musk-led OpenAI could lead to an employee exodus, a key theme of the billionaire’s takeovers, with key researchers potentially defecting to competitors like Anthropic or Google DeepMind.
Industry experts remain divided. While some argue that Musk’s vision could restore OpenAI’s original purpose, others believe his history of radical leadership changes could introduce instability, potentially hindering OpenAI’s long-term innovation and potential.
Elon Musk’s bid for OpenAI is more than just a high-stakes acquisition – it is a battle for control over the future of artificial intelligence. Whether the billionaire successfully reshapes OpenAI or faces insurmountable resistance from its board and stakeholders, the attempt alone signals a major change in the AI industry. The coming weeks will reveal whether Musk will make another -more aggressive- offer or if OpenAI will remain in its current trajectory, backed by Microsoft and Altman’s vision.
Regardless of the outcome, Musk’s intervention has reignited debate over OpenAI’s direction, AI safety, and corporate control in one of the most transformative industries of the decade.
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