Elon Musk wants to expand his tech empire. The CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, X, adviser to President Donald Trump and the world’s richest man is now targeting Artificial Intelligence. After launching Grok, the AI system of his social network X, Musk now wants to acquire OpenAI. The tycoon leads a group of investors that has made an offer to buy the company, creator of ChatGPT, for $97.4 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In a statement offered by Elon Musk’s lawyer, Mark Toberoff, the tycoon said: “It is time for OpenAI to once again be a force for good focused on safety and open source as it once was. We will make sure this happens.” The response from Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, was not long in coming. And it did so, precisely, through Musk’s social network.
“No thanks, but we’ll buy Twitter”
Sam Altman declined Elon Musk’s proposal with irony: “No thanks, but we’ll buy Twitter for $9.47 billion if you want.” The sarcasm of the OpenAI executive is evident in using the same offer as the Donald Trump adviser, but moving a decimal point. For the moment, Musk’s initiative has not gone any further and talks have reached a deadlock after Altman’s response.
Stargate, Trump’s megaproject for AI
Elon Musk’s offer comes just weeks after the United States announced the Stargate project. President Donald Trump urged OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle to create a joint venture, based in Texas, to lead the artificial intelligence sector worldwide. And this has translated into much more than a statement of intent, as its budget is $500 billion.
Elon Musk and Sam Altman, an almost personal conflict
Elon Musk and Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but the now richest man in the world left the company in 2019. According to Musk, the company is not currently aligned with its original spirit, as a non-profit entity. Altman, on the other hand, considers it necessary for part of the company to make investments in order to make a profit and remain competitive. The conflict is in the courts in the United States.