Sam Altman, Elon Musk feud escalates

Sam Altman has rejected Elon Musk’s unsolicited offer to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion, stating, “We are not for sale”. He dismissed the bid as a competitive tactic and accused Musk of using lawsuits and aggressive strategies instead of focusing on innovation.

Musk and a group of investors extended the offer earlier this week.

Altman also took a personal swipe at Musk, labeling the Tesla and xAI boss as “insecure” and reluctant to compete by building better technology.

A complicated feud
The move adds another layer of complexity to Altman’s efforts to transition OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, into a fully for-profit company. Musk’s offer marks the latest chapter in their longstanding feud over OpenAI’s mission.

Musk made the bid after filing legal complaints accusing ChatGPT-maker of abandoning its nonprofit roots and favoring Microsoft, its largest investor. Now, heading xAI, a direct competitor, Musk claims OpenAI is no longer aligned with its original vision.

While Altman publicly dismissed the offer, OpenAI’s board, led by Bret Taylor, will decide its next steps. Taylor previously clashed with Musk when he was Twitter’s chairman.

OpenAI’s complex transition
OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit in 2015 by the two tech moguls (and a few others), but Musk left the company a few years later. OpenAI introduced a capped-profit subsidiary in 2019 to create a for-profit arm within the organization. Altman now plans to separate the nonprofit entity while converting the for-profit subsidiary into a traditional company.

However, the offer comes when OpenAI is pursuing a major funding round that could push its valuation to $300 billion.

Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover also began with an unsolicited bid, but OpenAI’s nonprofit structure could make any sale legally complex. Experts say the board’s decision in the coming weeks will shape the company’s future direction.