Elon Musk, together with a group of investors, has submitted a $97.4 billion offer to acquire OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company responsible for ChatGPT, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has rejected the proposal with an ironic message on the social network X, owned by the entrepreneur and advisor to Donald Trump.
Altman responds with irony to Musk’s offer
Musk’s lawyer, Marc Toberoff, has been in charge of presenting the offer to OpenAI’s board of directors. For his part, the tycoon has urged the company to recover its original vision and return to being “an open, safety-focused force,” in line with the mission with which it was created.
However, OpenAI’s response has been categorical. Sam Altman, CEO of the company, has responded publicly with a message on X (formerly Twitter), where he ironized about Musk’s purchase offer: “No thanks, but we’ll buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want”.
Musk and his conflict with OpenAI
The relationship between Musk and OpenAI has been marked by tension in recent years. In 2023, the entrepreneur sued the company and Altman, arguing that they had strayed from the original mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. According to his lawsuit, OpenAI has evolved into a more commercial model and less committed to the initial principles.
Currently, OpenAI remains a non-profit organization, although it is in the process of transitioning to a more for-profit model. According to the company, this strategy seeks to secure the capital necessary to continue the development of more advanced artificial intelligence models.
Musk and AI: from ally to critic
Elon Musk, who was one of OpenAI’s co-founders in 2015, has been a recurring critic of the company’s evolution. On several occasions, he has expressed concern about the lack of transparency and the commercial approach the organization has taken.
The bid rejected by OpenAI is not the tycoon’s first attempt to influence the development of artificial intelligence. In 2023, he launched xAI, his own AI company, with the intention of competing directly with OpenAI and developing artificial intelligence models that, according to him, are safer and more beneficial to humanity.
Who is Elon Musk?
Elon Musk is a South African entrepreneur and technology magnate , naturalized Canadian and American, known for being the CEO of Tesla, the world’s most valuable electric vehicle company, and SpaceX, the aerospace company that seeks to colonize Mars. He is also the owner of X (formerly Twitter), founded Neuralink and The Boring Company, and has promoted initiatives such as xAI, his artificial intelligence company with which he seeks to compete against OpenAI. His fortune, valued at more than 200 billion dollars, places him among the richest men in the world.
