The OpenAI Board of Directors has responded to Elon Musk’s offer to buy the company. In a statement to X, OpenAI CEO Bret Taylor said: “OpenAI is not for sale and the board of directors unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt its competition.”
Musk and a coalition of supporters offered to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion earlier this week. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly responded to the news on X, saying, “No thanks, but we’ll buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”
Musk’s offer could still complicate things for OpenAI, which is in the process of becoming a for-profit company. The board of directors must do what’s best for the nonprofit, which means it will have to prove that Altman’s plan to spin off the company leaves it in a better position than Musk’s offer. On Wednesday, Musk’s lawyers said in court that the billionaire would withdraw his offer if OpenAI agreed to remain a nonprofit.
Taylor suggested that this concession was not discussed. “Any potential reorganization of OpenAI will strengthen our nonprofit organization and its mission to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity,” Taylor wrote.
