Elon Musk, CEO of X and xAI, reportedly sought Meta’s backing in a $97.4B bid to acquire OpenAI, according to court filings in his ongoing legal battle with the company. Musk and xAI approached Mark Zuckerberg with a letter of intent, but Meta never signed or joined the effort.
The filings suggest Musk’s goal was to eliminate OpenAI as a competitor, intensifying his feud with CEO Sam Altman. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI but later left, has long criticized its for-profit pivot and is now suing the company for breaching its original mission.
OpenAI argues Musk’s takeover attempt was a “sham bid” meant to destabilize it and has asked the court to subpoena Meta for related communications. The case underscores the escalating rivalry between Musk and Altman as AI industry competition grows.