Musk’s $97 Billion Bid for OpenAI Sparks AI Power Struggle
Elon Musk and a consortium—including his AI startup xAI, Baron Capital, and others—have made a $97.4 billion bid to acquire control of OpenAI. The offer escalates tensions between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, reigniting a long-standing feud over the company’s direction.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit in 2015 but left before its rise, has been openly critical of its transition to a for-profit model. Analysts say his bid complicates OpenAI’s current restructuring and raises questions about the future of AI governance.
Altman wasted no time responding, posting on X: “no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” The public jab highlights the deepening rift between two of the most influential figures in AI.
Musk’s involvement in AI politics goes beyond business. A close ally of President Donald Trump, he recently criticized a $500 billion AI project led by OpenAI and backed by the White House. His bid could be seen as an attempt to shift control of key AI advancements away from OpenAI’s current leadership.
With OpenAI at the heart of the generative AI boom, this latest move signals that the battle for dominance in AI is only just beginning.