Altman rejects Musk's $97.4B OpenAI takeover bid

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has rejected Elon Musk's $97.4 billion bid to buy out the ChatGPT maker.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a Musk-led group of investors submitted a $97.4 billion bid to OpenAI’s board of directors to buy the nonprofit on Feb. 10.

Altman responded in a Feb. 10 post on X, “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want."

Musk purchased that platform, now called X, for $44 billion in 2022.

Musk seemingly hit back by sharing a video on X of Altman’s 2023 testimony before Congress, where he told lawmakers that he owns no equity in OpenAI, with the caption “Scam Altman."

"It's time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was," said Musk's lawyer, Marc Toberoff.

Toberoff also stated that the group is prepared to match or beat any higher bids.

The offer escalates a long-running feud between Musk and Altman over the direction of the artificial intelligence firm.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, resigned from the company in 2018 and later sued OpenAI and Altman, claiming they violated promises to operate as a nonprofit.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk’s bid is backed by his AI company xAI, along with Baron Capital, Vy Capital, and 8VC.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers hasn’t yet ruled on Musk’s request but in the courtroom said it was a “stretch” for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesn’t intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its planned for-profit transition.