Deceptive Deal? Elon Musk’s Attempt to Acquire OpenAI for $97.4 Billion Met with Sharp Rebuke from Sam Altman

According to recent reports, Elon Musk made a move to purchase OpenAI, but it seems that Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, has already turned down the offer.

The tension between Musk and Altman is well-known, with Musk currently taking legal action against OpenAI for veering away from its non-profit, research-focused origins. Altman, in collaboration with Microsoft, has steered the company more towards profit-making ventures. As a result, OpenAI is divided into two parts: a non-profit segment and a profit-driven arm that’s engaged in multi-billion-dollar deals with Microsoft and other backers. The latest funding round pegged OpenAI’s valuation at around $157 billion.

The tech industry is fiercely competitive, with giants like Google’s Gemini, Meta’s Llama, and China’s DeepSeek constantly shaking up the scene. OpenAI remains a frontrunner, largely due to its integration with Microsoft Copilot, and led by the pioneering ChatGPT.

Not one to back down, Musk has taken his own shot at the AI race with his venture, xAI, powered by the Grok chatbot, aiming to dethrone OpenAI’s supremacy. Musk’s aggressive pursuit is fueled by his history with Altman, dating back to co-founding OpenAI in 2015. Musk eventually left, citing conflicts related to Tesla’s AI work, though OpenAI’s legal team suggests the departure was more about Musk’s attempt to gain greater control over the company.

In line with the strategy of acquiring competitors, Musk reportedly made an unsolicited bid of $97.4 billion for OpenAI’s non-profit arm, as covered by the Wall Street Journal. However, Altman’s response seemed to be a swift rejection.

Highlighting the rivalry, Altman humorously proposed buying Musk’s social platform, X (Twitter), for $9.74 billion, cheekily dismissing Musk’s offer with a “no thanks.” Musk responded by calling him a “swindler.”

Moreover, Musk is no fan of Altman’s ambitious $500 billion “Stargate” initiative. Backed by former President Trump, Stargate aims to establish an immense server infrastructure to propel future AI technologies. Trump’s support of Altman and OpenAI might seem unexpected, given Musk’s close ties with the current administration.

Commenting on the Stargate project, Trump previously hailed it as a testament to America’s potential, downplaying the Altman-Musk rivalry by noting “[Musk] hates one of the people on the deal,” presumably referring to Altman.

The AI sector’s breakneck competition is pushing innovation rapidly. China’s DeepSeek recently caused a significant drop in AI stocks, with its project rumored to be capable of replicating ChatGPT at a much lower cost. Yet, OpenAI’s Deep Research team once again seems to be ahead, racing toward next-generation AGI technologies that could enable AI models to genuinely understand context, not merely mimic it.