Elon Musk is willing to withdraw his $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI if its directors agree to halt the transformation of the AI company into a for-profit enterprise. This move escalates a long-standing feud between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Musk’s lawyers claim that Altman breached his fiduciary duty by rejecting the takeover bid without the board’s review, and that this decision is “adverse domination” of the board. The unsolicited bid was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
OpenAI aims to convert into a for-profit business, while Musk wants it to remain a nonprofit organization. Musk initially donated $45 million to fund the startup, which he claims was contingent on OpenAI staying non-profit.
Altman’s rejection of the offer came after Japanese conglomerate SoftBank plans a new investment of $40 billion, which would place OpenAI’s value at anywhere from $260 billion to $300 billion. Altman made his decision public on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, saying “no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
Musk responded with a personal attack, calling Altman a “swindler.” A California federal district judge has indicated that their courtroom fight could last well into 2027.
The dispute between the two former collaborators has increased in intensity, with both sides trading public jabs and criticism.
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/musk-will-stop-974-billion-openai-bid-if-board-stops-for-profit-switch-151111667.html