OpenAI’s board has rejected a massive takeover offer from Elon Musk, claiming the company is “not for sale.”
“OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition,” Bret Taylor, chair of OpenAI’s board, said in a statement on Friday
“Any potential reorganization of OpenAI will strengthen our nonprofit and its mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity.”
Elon Musk launched a $97.4 billion takeover bid on Monday, backed by his AI startup xAI and a consortium of investors. Musk has vowed to acquire OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, to restore its original mission and prioritize the public benefit over corporate profits.
In a court filing on Wednesday, Musk’s attorneys said he would remove his bid if OpenAI remains a nonprofit.
“If OpenAI, Inc.’s Board is prepared to preserve the charity’s mission and stipulate to take the ‘for sale’ sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid,” Musk’s lawyers wrote.
“Otherwise, the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets.”
Musk was an early investor in OpenAI, contributing $45 million before leaving the board in 2018. In 2024, he sued OpenAI, claiming it had violated its founding principles as a nonprofit research lab.
Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have clashed for years over the company’s direction.
Last week, Musk’s legal team went head to head with OpenAI in a California court, where Musk was requesting the judge block the formalization of OpenAI’s for-profit structure. Although the judge expressed some skepticism about Musk’s claims, she also noted concerns about OpenAI’s ties to Microsoft and said the case could proceed to a jury trial.