Elon Musk’s $97 Billion OpenAI Gambit Is the Corporate Equivalent of a Midlife Crisis
Musk’s bid won’t buy OpenAI, but it will give Altman a legal migraine.
Elon Musk has thrown a $97.4 billion curveball at OpenAI, attempting to snatch back the company he co-founded but left in a huff years ago.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, responded with the decisiveness of a magic 8-ball stuck on “no,” but legal experts say the situation is a lot messier than a simple rejection.
Musk’s bid targets OpenAI’s nonprofit assets, which—spoiler alert—technically cannot be sold to him. But as any billionaire with a grudge knows, rules exist to be tested, bent, or at least made wildly inconvenient for one’s opponents.
The Bid That Launched a Thousand Legal Headaches
On the surface, this seems like a classic hostile takeover attempt, except the castle Musk wants to storm is a nonprofit fortress governed by Byzantine legal statutes.
OpenAI’s for-profit entity is controlled by a nonprofit board, meaning it can only be bought by another nonprofit.
So unless Musk suddenly registers Tesla as a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to accelerating humanity’s tax deductions, this bid isn’t exactly straightforward.
To complicate matters further, Altman is already in the middle of trying to fully commercialize OpenAI—essentially pulling the company from its nonprofit roots into the glorious, capital-hungry world of Big Tech. But Musk’s move forces OpenAI to justify its valuation, explain why its nonprofit isn’t worth $97.4 billion, and deal with the added pressure of state attorney generals poking their noses into the deal.
And here’s the kicker: even if OpenAI somehow sold its nonprofit assets to Musk, that money would have to be reinvested into a charitable cause. Imagine Musk buying OpenAI only to have the proceeds go towards, say, an initiative that promotes ethical AI development—the exact thing he claims OpenAI has abandoned. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a quantum computing chip.
Why Is Musk Doing This?
Musk has a history with OpenAI that could be best described as “it’s complicated.”
He co-founded the company in 2015, tried (and failed) to take control of it in 2018, stormed off, and then launched his own AI competitor, xAI.
He’s since spent much of his free time tweeting that OpenAI has betrayed its mission by cozying up to Microsoft and prioritizing profits over saving humanity from a Terminator-style apocalypse.
Now, with this bid, Musk is playing 4D chess. Even if it’s unlikely to succeed, it does several things:
It forces OpenAI to respond. Altman & Co. now have to explain why Musk’s bid isn’t valid while simultaneously convincing investors like SoftBank that they should still pump billions into OpenAI’s valuation.
It complicates OpenAI’s transition to full for-profit status. The bid introduces legal friction, inviting regulatory scrutiny from California and Delaware officials.
It sends a message to OpenAI’s investors. Musk is signaling that if OpenAI ever stumbles, he’s waiting with an open checkbook. It’s corporate saber-rattling at its finest.
The Altman vs. Musk Power Struggle
This isn’t just about OpenAI’s structure or even AI’s future—this is about Musk and Altman’s long-standing beef.
Think of it as the tech industry’s equivalent of a high-stakes divorce battle, except instead of arguing over who gets the dog, they’re fighting over the future of artificial intelligence.
Altman, ever the pragmatic operator, is trying to navigate OpenAI toward profitability without tripping over ethical landmines. Meanwhile, Musk, who left OpenAI because he didn’t get control, is making sure Altman doesn’t get an easy ride into the corporate world.
But let’s be real: Musk probably knows this bid won’t go through. His goal isn’t necessarily to own OpenAI outright—it’s to cause chaos, slow down its transition, and make sure the world knows he still considers himself the rightful architect of AI’s future.
Make It Make Sense
• Musk can’t actually buy OpenAI’s nonprofit, but his bid still causes regulatory headaches.
• Altman wants to turn OpenAI into a full-blown for-profit, but now has to justify why Musk’s offer doesn’t count.
• Investors and regulators are now circling like vultures, making OpenAI’s future even more uncertain.
At the end of the day, Musk’s bid is less about actually acquiring OpenAI and more about flexing his influence.
Whether OpenAI remains under Altman’s control or gets bogged down in legal drama, one thing is clear: the AI power struggle is just getting started, and Musk is determined to be the main character.
Za-Head