How the Conflict Between Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Started to "Make Money"
Elon Musk has reportedly decided to withdraw his $97.4 billion offer to acquire OpenAI if its board of directors halts the company’s transition into a for-profit entity. This development, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, follows OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s rejection of Musk’s offer earlier this week. Altman stated that Musk was "probably just trying to slow us down" and clarified that OpenAI—home to ChatGPT—is not for sale.
"If the OpenAI board is willing to uphold its original mission as a nonprofit and abandons the ‘for sale’ label by stopping its transformation, Musk will retract his offer," Musk reportedly said on Wednesday.
Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015. After Musk departed, Altman took the helm as CEO, and the company established a for-profit subsidiary to attract funding from investors, including Microsoft. Now, Altman is reportedly working to transition this subsidiary into a traditional for-profit company.
Altman Accuses Musk of Trying to Slow Down OpenAI
Altman dismissed Musk’s offer during the AI Action Summit in Paris, stating, "Look, OpenAI is not for sale. Elon has been exploring various ideas for a while. This is just this week’s episode." Altman believes Musk is attempting to hinder OpenAI’s progress as a competitor, particularly with Musk’s own AI startup, XAI.
"It’s time for OpenAI to return to its open-source, safety-focused roots," Musk said in a statement announcing his offer. "We will ensure that happens."
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, reduced his involvement in 2018 after failing to persuade other leaders to let him take charge of the for-profit entity or merge OpenAI with Tesla.
OpenAI’s Commitment to Its Mission
Despite its for-profit subsidiary, Altman emphasized that OpenAI’s nonprofit arm remains a crucial part of its structure. "The nonprofit will continue to oversee the mission and will remain intact. The board is evaluating the best structure for the next phase, but the nonprofit isn’t going anywhere," Altman explained.
In December, OpenAI announced on its website that the board is "assessing the company’s structure to best support its mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all humanity, with three goals: ensuring long-term mission success."
Musk and Altman’s History
Musk and Altman appeared together on stage in 2015 during the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in San Francisco, as captured in a photo by Getty Images.
Altman’s Humorous Response
Altman responded to Musk’s offer on X, joking, "No, thank you, but we can buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want."
Greg Wehner of Tech Word News contributed to this report.
