In This Story
Sam Altman and Elon Musk are trading barbs about OpenAI again — this time after Musk’s reported offer to buy the artificial intelligence startup’s assets for $97.4 billion.
On Monday, Musk’s lawyer, Marc Toberoff, submitted a bid to OpenAI’s board of directors for all of its assets, the Wall Street Journal reported. A group of investors led by Musk has reportedly offered to buy the nonprofit controlling the AI startup for $97.4 billion.
“It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was,” Musk said in a statement shared with the Wall Street Journal through his lawyer. “We will make sure that happens.”
The offer to buy OpenAI’s assets is being backed by Musk’s rival AI startup, xAI, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that Musk has other investors backing him including Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, and 8VC.
Altman has since responded via X and through a series of press interviews at the AI Action Summit in Paris.
Here’s what Altman and Musk have said to and about each other in the past 24 hours.
‘No thank you’
In response to the report about Musk’s bid for OpenAI, Altman responded on X, the social media platform owned by his rival.
“no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” Altman said.
Musk replied to Altman’s post, calling him a “Swindler.”
‘Scam Altman’
Musk later called the OpenAI chief executive “Scam Altman” in different posts on X — one in response to a thread by Autism Capital about the Wall Street Journal report, and the other with a video clip of Altman telling Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) that he has “no equity in OpenAI” during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary subcommittee in 2023.
‘Just embarrassing to watch’
Altman reportedly told OpenAI staff on Monday that the AI startup’s board had rejected Musk’s offer before even seeing an official bid, and called the effort “just embarrassing to watch,” according to The Information.
On Tuesday, Altman told Axios that the AI startup “is not for sale.”
“OpenAI’s mission is not for sale — to say nothing of the fact that, like, a competitor who is not able to beat us in the market and you know, instead is just trying to say, like, ‘I’m gonna buy this’ with total disregard for the mission is a likely path there,” Altman said.
He added that other “versions of Elon” have tried to “take control of OpenAI for a long time.”
‘Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity’
Altman told Bloomberg during a TV interview on Tuesday that he wished Musk “would just compete by building a better product.”
“Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity,” Altman said. “I feel for the guy. I don’t think he’s, like, a happy person.”
‘I just actually try to show up and build’
Altman referenced a controversial claim by Musk that landed the billionaire in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“I’m not the one who tweeted ‘funding secured,’” Altman said Tuesday about Musk’s 2018 assertion that he had support to take Tesla (TSLA-6.00%) private, according to CNBC. “I just actually try to show up and build.”
The OpenAI leader told CNBC that he is “not particularly” taking Musk’s offer seriously.
“I think it’s to slow down a competitor and catch up with his thing, but I don’t really know ... to the degree anybody does,” Altman said, according to CNBC.