In the past 24 hours, the internet has seen the rivalry between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, co-founders of OpenAI, unfold.
Musk, now leading a consortium of investors, has made a staggering $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI, an American Artificial Intelligence (AI) research organization founded in December 2015. Importantly, OpenAI is the AI powerhouse behind ChatGPT.
However, OpenAI CEO Altman swiftly rejected the offer, escalating a long-standing feud between the tech titans over the future direction of AI development.
On 11 February 2025, Altman gave an interview to Bloomberg TV at the Paris AI Action Summit. “Elon tries all sorts of things for a long time. This is the latest — you know, this week’s episode,” he said. “I think he’s probably just trying to slow us down.”
“I wish he would just compete by building a better product,” Sam Altman says of @elonmusk in an interview with @TomMackenzieTV.
“Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity, I feel for the guy… I don’t think he’s, like, a happy person.” pic.twitter.com/YhUmmW5iNe
— annmarie hordern (@annmarie) February 11, 2025
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“We will buy Twitter for $97.4 billion,” Says Altman
Musk’s unsolicited offer aims to take control of OpenAI’s non-profit entity, which oversees its for-profit operations. Furthermore, he claims his intent is to steer the organization back to its original mission of open-source AI development and public benefit.
“It’s time for OpenAI to return to being the open-source, safety-focused force it was meant to be,” Musk said through his attorney Marc Toberoff.
Replying to this, Altman said, “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $97.4 billion if you want.”
Altman accused Musk of attempting to disrupt OpenAI’s progress out of competitive insecurity. “I think he’s probably just trying to slow us down,” Altman said. He also took a personal jab at Musk, stating, “I don’t think he’s a happy person. I feel for him.” Altman further emphasized that OpenAI remains committed to its mission and is not for sale.
no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want
— Sam Altman (@sama) February 10, 2025
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An Age Old Rivalry
The tension between Musk and Altman dates back to 2018 when Musk left OpenAI after an internal power struggle over leadership. Since then, their rivalry has intensified as both have pursued competing visions for AI.
Musk launched his own AI venture, xAI, in 2023 as a direct competitor to OpenAI.
Musk has repeatedly criticized OpenAI for deviating from its original nonprofit mission by creating a for-profit subsidiary in 2019 and securing billions in investments from Microsoft. He has accused the organization of prioritizing profit over safety and transparency in AI development.
These criticisms have been accompanied by legal actions; Musk filed lawsuits against OpenAI in 2024 alleging breaches of competition laws and racketeering practices.
Altman has countered these claims by highlighting the necessity of commercialization to fund expensive AI research and development.
Under his leadership, OpenAI has grown into one of the most valuable private companies globally, with technologies like ChatGPT and DALL-E driving its success.
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