Musk asked Zuckerberg to fund OpenAI’s takeover
In a recent court filing, the startup revealed that Elon Musk attempted to recruit Mark Zuckerberg for his unsolicited bid to acquire OpenAI this year. OpenAI reported that Musk pointed out Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., as one of the individuals he had spoken with regarding the possibility of financing a deal to acquire the ChatGPT creator. According to OpenAI’s filing, neither Zuckerberg nor Meta were involved in signing the letter of intent or participating in the $97.4 billion bid. In February, OpenAI’s board officially turned down Musk’s proposal.
.Musk collaborated with Sam Altman to establish OpenAI ten years ago, later moving on to create a competing startup, xAI. He is currently engaged in a legal battle with OpenAI, making multiple attempts to obstruct the startup’s efforts to transition into a more traditional for-profit entity. A billionaire has initiated two lawsuits against OpenAI, claiming the company has deviated from its foundational principles. The legal action includes a request for the court to halt the company’s restructuring efforts.
Evidence has emerged suggesting that Musk was discreetly attempting to convince one of OpenAI’s main competitors to assist him in acquiring the startup. This revelation could potentially undermine the billionaire’s legal assertions that Altman’s collaboration with Microsoft Corp. violated OpenAI’s charitable mission. The judge presiding over the ongoing legal dispute has noted that “efforts by Musk to incorporate OpenAI into Tesla or to convert it into a for-profit company are relevant because they may be inconsistent” with his allegations against Altman and OpenAI.
In a filing on Thursday, OpenAI requested that the judge compel Meta to provide documentation concerning any communications the tech company had with Musk. Meta has called on the court to reject OpenAI’s request, asserting, “Meta’s documents can hold no evidence of ‘coordination’ with Musk, or of Meta’s purported attempt to purchase OpenAI, or of any other relevant information when Meta did not join Musk’s bid. Meta’s communications (if any) with entities that did join the bid also hold little to no relevance, and in any event, should be sought from those entities, not Meta, which did not participate,” the company stated.
