Elon Musk-Led Group Makes $97.4 Billion Bid to Take Over OpenAI: WSJ

A group led by Tesla co-Founder and CEO Elon Musk has reportedly made a bid for Artificial Intelligence (AI) giant OpenAI. As reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the group is offering $97.4 billion for complete control of the ChatGPT maker.

The Elon Musk Bid for OpenAI: Toned Down Valuation

According to the Wall Street Journal report, Marc Toberoff, the lawyer representing Elon Musk has submitted the bid to the OpenAI board. The goal of the $97.4 billion offer is to return the non-profit controlling OpenAI to its roots. This include its reset to operate as an “open-source, safety-focused force for good.”

While not unexpected, this offer is a strategic shift from the legal feud between Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO and Elon Musk. Recall that the Tesla CEO has always criticized Sam Altman for pushing the AI firm to become a for-profit entity. The feud between both techn leaders hinges on the alleged misdirection of OpenAI as an AI pioneer. 

While Elon Musk believe AI should not be monetized but used for the greater good, Altman was piloting the firm in opposite direction. Notably, amid the growing feud, Elon Musk once filed anti-trust suit against the firm and Microsoft in December. This legal battle shows the extent of the feud between the leaders.

OpenAI CEO Responds To Elon Musk

As the WSJ report made the headlines, Sam Altman has responded to Elon Musk via the latter’s X platform. In his post, Sam Altman said, “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want. While it remains unclear what basis the OpenAI CEO employed to value X, it is clear he is not receptive to the offer.

Notably, the $97.4 billion bid is a smaller amount compared to a projected valuation of $340 billion for OpenAI. While it remains uncertain how the board will react to the bid, if approved, it will mark the major acquisition led by Elon Musk since the $44 billion acquisition of X, formerly Twitter Inc.

The Elon Musk-led group bid has triggered growing conversation on X, refocusing the spotlight on AI-based innovations.

A More Stubborn Mutual Rival to Fight

Amid the growing advances toward Artificial Superintelligence (AGI), China’s DeepSeek AI is seeking to disrupt the market considerably. When it made its emergence in January, DeepSeek triggered AI token crash and broader market selloff. This selloff, fueled by claims that it spent less to train its AI model with considerable capabilities like GPT-4, offsetted core AI giants.

With ChatGPT, Grok AI, and DeepSeek now top competitors, market analysts have hinted that the fight might be more significant than between Elon Musk and Sam Altman. Critics of this power fight advocate for resource merging to fight off Chinese AI.