Elon Musk tried to form unlikely tag team with Zuckerberg in $97B OpenAI bid

Elon Musk sought help from Mark Zuckerberg as he tried to buy OpenAI earlier this year, according to a court filing by the ChatGPT maker. OpenAI said Musk identified the Meta Platforms Inc. chief executive as someone he had spoken with about financing an unsolicited offer for the company.

Neither Zuckerberg nor Meta signed a letter of intent or joined the $97.4 billion bid, the filing said as reported by Reuters.

Musk helped start OpenAI with Sam Altman about a decade ago and later launched a rival, xAI.

OpenAI argued that evidence of Musk quietly asking one of the company’s main rivals to aid a takeover could weaken his claims that Altman’s partnership with Microsoft Corp. violated OpenAI’s charitable mission.

The judge overseeing the dispute has previously written that “efforts by Musk to incorporate OpenAI into Tesla or to convert it into a for-profit company are relevant because they may be inconsistent” with his claims against Altman and OpenAI.

Meta rejects OpenAI requests for Meta documents

In the Thursday filing, OpenAI asked the judge to order Meta to produce documents tied to any communications the company had with Musk. Meta urged the court to reject the request, saying, “Meta’s documents can hold no evidence of ‘coordination’ with Musk, or of Meta’s purported attempt to purchase OpenAI, or of any other relevant information when Meta did not join Musk’s bid.”

The company added, “Meta’s communications (if any) with entities that did join the bid also hold little to no relevance, and in any event, should be sought from those entities, not Meta, which did not participate.”

The filing follows a broader standoff over the Tesla founder’s unsolicited approach.

Last year, OpenAI outlined plans to create a public benefit corporation to “raise more capital than we’d imagined” and ease limits imposed by the current nonprofit parent.

After the consortium’s offer became public, Altman replied with a “no thank you” on X in February. Musk responded, “swindler.” The following day, Altman told news outlets that OpenAI was not for sale.

Musk’s lawyers said in a court filing that the consortium, which includes xAI, would withdraw its offer for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm if the nonprofit abandoned plans to convert to a for-profit entity.

OpenAI rejected Musk’s bid after terms were changed in court filing

Musk’s lawyer, Marc Toberoff, responded that OpenAI is putting control of the for-profit enterprise up for sale and said the move will “enrich its certain board members rather than the charity.”

In a letter dated February 14, the OpenAI board said the filing changed the terms. “Two days ago, you filed a pleading in court adding new material conditions to the proposal. As a result of that filing, it is now apparent that your clients’ much publicized ‘bid’ is in fact not a bid at all,” according to William Savitt, a lawyer for OpenAI, in a letter to Toberoff.

Other members of the group include Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital and Hollywood executive Ari Emanuel.

As Cryptopolitan reported, OpenAI said it rejected a $97.4 billion offer from a Musk-led group and said any future bids wouldn’t be genuine. The company said the bid was the billionaire’s latest attempt to block its move to a for-profit model and its effort to raise money to compete in AI.

“OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition. Any potential reorganization of OpenAI will strengthen our nonprofit and its mission to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity,” the company said on X, quoting OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor on behalf of the board.

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