OpenAI Rejected Elon Musk's Acquisition Offer Worth US$97.4 Billion

OpenAI has officially rejected Elon Musk's proposal worth US$97.4 billion, or more than Rp. 1,500 trillion, to purchase the nonprofit parent company that oversees the artificial intelligence startup.

In a letter sent to Musk's lawyer on Friday, OpenAI's attorney, William Savitt, explained that the OpenAI board had reviewed the proposal and decided that Musk's offer, which was widely publicized, was not actually a legitimate offer. 

Savitt revealed that, despite the proposal being submitted, it did not align with OpenAI's mission's best interests, and as a result, it was rejected. The decision from the OpenAI board on this matter was unanimous.

OpenAI's Assertion of Not Being for Sale

Bret Taylor, Chairman of OpenAI, stated that the company was not for sale. Taylor also emphasized that any future reorganization of OpenAI would further strengthen the nonprofit institution and its mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity.

Previously, Musk's lawyer, Marc Toberoff, revealed that Musk had led a group of investors who made an offer to buy control of OpenAI for US$97.4 billion. Toberoff also mentioned that the offer was aimed at the nonprofit company overseeing ChatGPT, with Musk hoping to return OpenAI to being an open-source entity focused on security and its original purpose.

CEO of OpenAI's Response

The response from OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, was given through the platform X (formerly Twitter), where Altman rejected the offer and instead suggested that they would buy Twitter for US$9.74 billion if Musk was willing to sell it. Musk then responded to Altman's comment, calling him a "fraud" in a reply posted on the platform.

Background of the Musk and Altman Conflict

The drama between Musk and Altman began in 2015 when they both co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit AI research lab. Since then, their relationship has undergone significant changes, with the two becoming bitter rivals after OpenAI’s success with ChatGPT, a highly viral AI chatbot.

Recently, OpenAI has been attempting to transform from a nonprofit organization into a fully commercial entity due to the high demand for its products. Several major companies, such as Microsoft, which invested billions of dollars, and SoftBank, which was nearing completion of a US$40 billion investment, have provided financial backing to OpenAI. On the other hand, Musk has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for alleged contract breaches regarding this transition and has founded a new AI company, xAI, which directly competes with OpenAI.

Complexity of the Acquisition Proposal and OpenAI's Status

Although the OpenAI board rejected Musk’s offer, the situation has become more complicated because OpenAI is still under the umbrella of its nonprofit parent organization. While the OpenAI board does not have fiduciary responsibility to investors, they are bound by OpenAI's charter, which explicitly states that the organization's primary mission is to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits humanity.

Earlier in January, Toberoff sent a letter to the attorneys general in California and Delaware, requesting that Musk's acquisition proposal be made public. Musk then stated in a court filing that he would withdraw his offer for OpenAI's nonprofit division if the organization halted its transition into a fully commercial entity.