Elon Musk Offers $97.4 Billion for OpenAI, Sam Altman Immediately Rejects It

A consortium of investors led by Elon Musk has made a $97.4 billion offer to acquire OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. However, the proposal was swiftly rejected by OpenAI’s CEO and co-founder, Sam Altman.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk and several investors submitted an offer to OpenAI’s board of directors to take over the company’s non-profit division. The report was later confirmed by Musk’s attorney, Mark Toberoff.

"It’s time for OpenAI to return to being an open-source force, focused on safety, just as it was before. We will make sure that happens," Musk stated through an official statement via Toberoff, as reported by BBC on Tuesday (11/2/2025).

This bid marks a new chapter in the ongoing dispute between Musk and Altman regarding OpenAI’s future direction. Instead of accepting the offer, Altman responded by proposing to buy Twitter/X.

"No, thank you. But we’ll buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you’re interested," Altman posted on X.

Musk’s $97.4 billion offer is significantly lower than OpenAI’s latest valuation of $157 billion following its most recent funding round in October 2024. The acquisition attempt is backed by Musk’s xAI, along with major investors such as Baron Capital Group and Valor Management.

Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a non-profit organization. However, their relationship soured after Musk resigned from OpenAI’s board in 2018.

Altman is now working to transition OpenAI from a non-profit entity to a for-profit business model. This move has sparked controversy and even led to a lawsuit from Musk, who argues that the shift betrays the company’s founding mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity.

OpenAI, however, defends the transformation, stating that becoming a for-profit entity is necessary to secure the funding required for advancing AI technology.

"As a co-founder of OpenAI and one of the most successful and innovative leaders in tech history, Musk is the best person to safeguard and further develop OpenAI’s technology," Toberoff said in an official statement.

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