In February, Elon Musk made a $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI’s acquisition. Unfortunately, it did not turn out well for the tech billionaire as Sam Altman replied with a cold “No, thank you” response.
The ChatGPT maker wants to teach Musk a lesson. Recently, it sued Musk in a countersuit that alleges that the Tesla owner is engaged in bad-faith practices to stall the company’s progress and hijack its AI technology for his own benefit.
In a recent document, OpenAI lawyers contend that Musk’s persistent onslaught against the company, a recent “hostile takeover bid” included, is a concerted effort to impede OpenAI’s mission and future development.
The countersuit, which was brought on Wednesday, April 9, claims Musk should be restrained from taking any additional illegal action and held liable for the damage already done to the AI company.
Elon Musk, formerly a co-founder of OpenAI, has been in “bad terms” with the company since last year. In his first lawsuit, he accused OpenAI of becoming detached from its purpose of creating Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for humanity and becoming interested in generating profits.
Musk’s role, which has continuously questioned the direction of the company, eventually led to him taking legal action against OpenAI.
OpenAI For-Profit Mission
In December, OpenAI released a blog post titled “Elon Musk Wanted an OpenAI for-profit,” which underlined the sharp contrast in vision between Musk and the present leadership. The post presented evidence that Musk’s aspiration for a more profit-oriented model had been a key factor in the legal conflict, The Verge reported.
Musk’s $97 Billion Offer Was Rejected
In early 2025, Elon Musk made another significant move, offering a staggering $97.4 billion to purchase OpenAI. Musk framed the offer as an opportunity to restore OpenAI’s original mission to be an open-source, safety-focused organization. However, the offer was swiftly rejected by OpenAI’s board, calling it a “sham bid.”
He even threatened to drop the takeover bid if OpenAI’s nonprofit status remained.