Elon Musk to Rescind OpenAI Bid if Non-Profit Status Abandoned

In a California court filing on Wednesday, lawyers for Elon Musk declared his intention to withdraw his $97.4 billion offer to acquire the non-profit organization behind OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, if the company proceeds with its plans to restructure as a for-profit entity.

"If OpenAI, Inc.'s Board is prepared to preserve the charity's mission and stipulate to halt its conversion by removing the 'for sale' sign from its assets, Musk will withdraw the bid," the filing stated. "Otherwise, the charity must receive compensation equal to what an independent buyer would pay for its assets."

Musk and a group of investors submitted their offer earlier this week, escalating a long-standing dispute with the AI company he co-founded a decade ago. OpenAI operates under a non-profit board tasked with the mission of developing advanced AI for the public good. However, last year, the company announced plans to formalize a corporate restructuring.

Musk and his AI startup, xAI, have teamed up with investment firms to acquire OpenAI and restore its status as a non-profit research lab. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman swiftly rejected the unsolicited bid and stated at an AI summit in Paris that the company remains unavailable for sale.

Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but later clashed over its leadership direction. Since Musk's departure from the board in 2018, the two have engaged in an ongoing dispute regarding the startup's trajectory.