Just hours after a group of investors led by Elon Musk offered $97.4 to purchase a nonprofit organization that controls Open AI, the offer has been politely declined.
Musk, who is now the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a charity, alongside Sam Altman. Musk left the company in 2019, citing a potential conflict of interest, as Tesla were beginning to develop AI for self-driving cars at the time.
Altman, who became the CEO, responded to the offer on X today, simply writing: “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
Musk almost immediately replied, “Swindler.”
It’s unclear whether the X-war between the feuding former partners is lighthearted. They have a complicated history involving multiple legal complaints that followed Musk’s exit from the company in 2019.
According to Musk’s attorney Marc Toberoff, he and the other consortium of investment firms want to purchase Open AI to return the company to its original mission as a nonprofit research lab.
Last year, Musk filed a lawsuit against the company, saying that it had violated their original contract as a nonprofit venture with the goal of developing AI for the benefit of humanity. The massive bid today was another effort to stop the company from the path it is currently on without his involvement.
In the thread on X, @vJoeAdams wrote: “I really wish the two of you would knock off this tech bro pissing contest. You two have the most unique positions in the WORLD to make a change for the BETTER. Do THAT. Please.”
Musk’s failed offer might be a blessing in disguise as his hands are definitely full at the moment. He is navigating a number of issues in his new role as DOGE leader. He recently said that a DOGE staff member who resigned after being linked to racist X posts will be rehired. He asked X if they think 25-year-old Marko Elez should be given a second chance.
