February 14, 2025 – According to a report by Reuters, court documents submitted by lawyers representing Elon Musk on Wednesday revealed that the billionaire would withdraw his $97.4 billion acquisition offer for the non-profit division of OpenAI if the company abandons its plans to transition into a profit-making entity.
Musk has been actively opposing OpenAI’s shift from being a non-profit organization to being profit-oriented, while OpenAI maintains that this change is essential to secure additional funding and remain competitive in the artificial intelligence industry.
The documents stated that Musk would retract his offer if OpenAI’s board commits to preserving its non-profit mission and clarifies that its assets are no longer “for sale.” In the event that OpenAI proceeds with the transition, the non-profit entity should receive a fair market price from an independent buyer. Musk’s acquisition offer, as stated in the documents, aims to “advance OpenAI’s non-profit mission.”
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, expressed this week that the non-profit entity controlling OpenAI is “not for sale,” describing Musk’s acquisition offer as “absurd.”
Informed sources further indicated that OpenAI’s board intends to reject this proposal as the non-profit entity is not intended for sale and its mission is to “ensure artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity.”
In its court filings, OpenAI contended that Musk’s attempt to acquire the company contradicts his stated position in court that OpenAI’s assets should not be used for private gain. The company characterized Musk’s move as an “improper effort to undermine a competitor.”
Musk co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015, operating initially as a non-profit. However, due to disagreements over the company’s direction and funding sources, Musk resigned in 2018. Altman subsequently took over as CEO and established a profit-making business unit to attract investments from companies like Microsoft.
