OpenAI: Sam Altman Humiliates Elon Musk And Refuses $97.4 Billion!

On February 11, 2025, Elon Musk made a buyout offer of $97.4 billion to acquire OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. This initiative aimed to restore OpenAI to its original status as a non-profit research laboratory. However, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, quickly declined this proposal, harshly challenging Elon Musk in the process.

The CEO of OpenAI Declines Elon Musk’s Offer and Harshly Challenges Him

In response to Elon Musk’s buyout offer for OpenAI at $97.4 billion, Sam Altman provocatively suggested, to buy Twitter (rebranded as X) for $9.74 billion, referencing Musk’s initial purchase price of $44 billion in 2022. This retort heightened tensions between the two men, once co-founders of OpenAI in 2015. Musk departed the company in 2018 due to disagreements over its direction, particularly its transition to a for-profit model.

Musk expressed concerns regarding OpenAI’s evolution, accusing it of straying from its original mission and forming close ties with tech giants like Microsoft. He even filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that the organization had deviated from its original charitable purpose.

This buyout offer comes at a time when OpenAI has recently entered into significant partnerships, including an alliance with the U.S. government for an estimated $500 billion AI infrastructure project. Additionally, Microsoft has invested $10 billion in the company, thereby strengthening its position in the field of artificial intelligence.

Two Distinct Visions of AI

The rivalry between Musk and Altman reflects divergent views on the future of artificial intelligence. While Altman has steered OpenAI toward strategic partnerships and commercial expansion, Musk founded xAI, a company dedicated to an AI “that tells the truth,” aiming to compete with models like ChatGPT.

Musk’s proposal and Altman’s response thus illustrate the increasing tensions in the AI sector, where financial and ethical stakes are becoming more pronounced. This situation also highlights the challenges that tech companies face regarding governance, mission, and strategic partnerships .