Elon Musk has signaled he will withdraw his $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI's nonprofit arm if the company's board agrees to abandon its transition to a for-profit structure, according to a court filing submitted Wednesday. The move marks the latest escalation in an ongoing legal battle between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the organization's future direction.
Musk's attorneys described the bid as a "serious offer" and emphasized that if OpenAI's nonprofit board "preserves the charity's mission" by halting its conversion to a for-profit model, Musk would no longer seek to acquire it. "Should [...] the charity's assets proceed to sale, a Musk-led consortium has submitted a serious offer that would go to the charity in furtherance of its mission," the filing stated. "However, if OpenAI, Inc.'s Board is prepared to preserve the charity's mission and stipulate to take the 'for sale' sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid."
The filing comes just days after Musk, alongside investors and his AI company xAI, made an unsolicited $97.4 billion offer to purchase OpenAI's nonprofit arm, which holds control over the organization's governance. The proposal was swiftly rejected by OpenAI's board, with legal counsel Andy Nussbaum stating, Musk's "bid doesn't set a value for [OpenAI's] nonprofit and the nonprofit is not for sale."