In recent legal filings, billionaire Elon Musk's team of lawyers filed an important statement to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The document clearly states that if OpenAI's board of directors can stick to its original intention as a charity and stops its transformation to a for-profit company, Musk will withdraw his proposal to acquire OpenAI's nonprofit organization $97.4 billion. This statement has attracted widespread attention, especially in the fields of technology and artificial intelligence.
The document stressed that Musk's acquisition proposal was "serious" and pointed out that OpenAI nonprofits must receive reasonable compensation for their assets. Musk and his team have submitted a detailed offer to support OpenAI's mission. However, if the OpenAI board of directors can stick to its charity’s mission and revoke the “for-sale” status of assets, Musk will abandon the bid. This statement shows Musk's concerns about the future development of OpenAI.
On Monday, Musk joined hands with his artificial intelligence company xAI and other investors to acquire OpenAI's nonprofit organization for $97.4 billion. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and the board quickly rejected the proposal. Andy Nasbaum, legal counsel for the OpenAI board, said Musk's bid "has not set value for OpenAI's non-profit organization" and stressed that the organization is "not selling". This response demonstrates the strong commitment of the OpenAI Board of Directors to its mission.
It is worth noting that Musk was the co-founder of OpenAI, but he filed a lawsuit against the company and Altman last year, accusing OpenAI of illegal activities such as anti-competitive behavior and fraud. OpenAI was originally established as a nonprofit organization before it transformed into a "capped profit" structure in 2019. Today, nonprofits are the sole controlling shareholder of the “top-for-profit” OpenAI company and retain their formal fiduciary responsibility for the nonprofit’s articles of association. This background makes Musk's acquisition proposal even more complicated.
Meanwhile, Musk is trying to stop OpenAI's transformation through litigation. Earlier on Wednesday, OpenAI lawyers noted that Musk's move was considered "misconduct to undermine competitors", which contradicted the position he claimed in court. OpenAI believes that transferring startup assets through restructuring will violate its mission as a charitable trust. This legal dispute further exacerbates tensions between the two sides.
Key points:
Musk threatens to withdraw his offer of OpenAI, provided the board of directors does not transform into profit.
His $97.4 billion acquisition proposal was quickly rejected by the OpenAI board of directors.
Musk is seeking to stop OpenAI's transformation through a lawsuit and accusing it of anti-competitive behavior.