The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk proposed acquiring the nonprofit organization OpenAI for $97.4 billion through a consortium.
Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, submitted the investment bid proposal to OpenAI’s board of directors, proposing to acquire OpenAI for $97.4 billion.
Through his lawyer, Musk explained the background of the investment bid proposal, stating, “It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was.” He added, “We will make sure that happens.”
Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015. However, the landscape shifted in 2019 when Musk left the company, and Altman assumed the CEO role. Under Altman’s leadership, OpenAI established a for-profit subsidiary to secure funding from Microsoft and other investors. Altman is transforming the for-profit subsidiary into a traditional company while spinning off the nonprofit entity and holding shares in the new for-profit subsidiary.
In response to the news, Altman posted a short message on social media, sarcastically stating, “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
