14.02.2025 08:00

A dramatic escalation in the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman unfolded on February 10th. Late in the afternoon, a bombshell announcement revealed a $97.4 billion bid from a Musk-led investor group to acquire OpenAI, as reported by the Wall Street Journal and widely circulated on social media. This unexpected move immediately thrust the tech world into a frenzy of speculation and anticipation.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman swiftly rejected Musk's audacious offer, taking the counter-offensive with a surprising proposition of his own. In a tweet that quickly went viral, Altman offered to purchase X (formerly Twitter) from Musk for a significantly lower $9.74 billion, a move many interpreted as a bold and defiant retort. This unexpected counter-offer underscored the escalating tensions between the two tech titans.

Musk, known for his combative public persona, responded with characteristically blunt retorts, publicly labeling Altman a "swindler" and repeatedly using the moniker "Scam Altman" across his social media platforms. This escalation intensified the already charged atmosphere surrounding the conflict.

The reason behind Musk's unexpected bid for OpenAI, however, remains a subject of intense debate. While Altman's rejection was widely anticipated, the bid itself was a shock. His motivation likely stems from a multifaceted conflict encompassing political, economic, and direct inter-company rivalry between xAI (Musk's AI venture) and OpenAI. Altman himself hinted at this, suggesting in a Bloomberg interview at the Paris AI Summit that Musk's primary goal was to hinder OpenAI's advancements. He explicitly stated that Musk, actively developing xAI and striving for market dominance, views OpenAI as a direct competitor, hence the aggressive takeover attempt.