In a recent legal dispute, Elon Musk's lawyers team issued a statement saying that they will withdraw their $97.4 billion acquisition offer to OpenAI's nonprofit division if it decides to abandon its transformation from a nonprofit organization to a for-profit company. . This news quickly attracted widespread attention and heated discussion in the technology community.
Musk has long been opposed to OpenAI's transformation. He firmly believes that OpenAI should adhere to its initial non-profit mission to ensure that the development and application of its technology can benefit all mankind, rather than just pursuing commercial interests. However, OpenAI management believes that transformation into a for-profit company is necessary to obtain more capital support and remain competitive in the increasingly fierce artificial intelligence field. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stressed in a recent public statement that the nonprofit that controls OpenAI is "not for sale" and bluntly stated that Musk's proposal for acquisition is "ridiculous".
Musk will withdraw his offer if OpenAI's board of directors is willing to continue to fulfill its non-profit mission and makes it clear that its assets will no longer be for sale, according to documents filed by Musk's lawyers in court. The proposal reflects his deep concerns about the future development of OpenAI, believing that continuing to transition to profit may deviate from its original goals and mission.
According to people familiar with the matter, OpenAI's board of directors plans to reject Musk's proposal, stressing that nonprofits themselves are not within the scope of sale and that its core mission is always to "ensure that artificial intelligence benefits all mankind." This position shows that OpenAI is still firmly adhering to its original intention and is unwilling to give up its core philosophy due to financial pressure.
In addition, OpenAI pointed out in court documents that Musk's acquisition attempt contradicted his previous position of claiming in court that "OpenAI assets cannot be used for private profits", believing that the move was an inappropriate act of "suppressing competitors." It is worth noting that Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015, which initially operated as a nonprofit. However, Musk withdrew in 2018 due to differences in future development directions, and then OpenAI began setting up a for-profit business unit to attract investment.
This incident not only reveals the profound differences between Musk and OpenAI, but also triggers extensive discussions on how technology companies should balance profits with social responsibility. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, how to find a balance between business interests and social mission has become an important issue that needs to be solved in the technology industry.