OpenAI board unanimously rejects Elon Musk's $97.4 billion proposal

Source: AP

Updated 5:55 PM EST, February 14, 2025


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI says its board of directors has unanimously rejected a $97.4 billion takeover bid by Elon Musk. “OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his competition,” said a statement Friday from Bret Taylor, chair of OpenAI’s board.

OpenAI attorney William Savitt in a letter to Musk’s attorney Friday said the proposal “is not in the best interests of OAI’s mission and is rejected.” Musk, an early OpenAI investor, began a legal offensive against the ChatGPT maker nearly a year ago, suing for breach of contract over what he said was the betrayal of its founding aims as a nonprofit.

OpenAI has increasingly sought to capitalize on the commercial success of generative AI. But the for-profit company is a subsidiary of a nonprofit entity that’s bound to a mission — which Musk helped set — to safely build better-than-human AI for humanity’s benefit. OpenAI is now seeking to more fully convert itself to a for-profit company, but would first have to buy out the nonprofit’s assets.

Throwing a wrench in those plans, Musk and his own AI startup, xAI, and a group of investment firms announced a bid Monday to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI. Musk in a court filing Wednesday further detailed the proposal to acquire the nonprofit’s controlling stake.

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