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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Elon Musk did make a real offer related to OpenAI—but he did not buy ChatGPT or take control of the company. On February 10, 2025, a Musk-led consortium submitted an unsolicited bid widely reported at $97.4 billion for the nonprofit entity that controlled OpenAI’s operating business. OpenAI’s board unanimously rejected the proposal four days later.
What happened to Musk’s OpenAI bid?
The offer was presented to OpenAI’s board by Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff. Musk’s artificial-intelligence company, xAI, was part of the consortium, alongside investment firms and individuals identified in contemporaneous reports.
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The proposal never became an acquisition agreement. OpenAI’s board said the organization was not for sale and formally rejected the offer on February 14, 2025. There was no reported closing, transfer of control, or merger between OpenAI and xAI.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The bid was widely reported as $97.4 billion. At least one contemporaneous account rendered the figure as $97.6 billion, so the amount should be understood as the reported offer price—not as a definitive valuation of all OpenAI entities, products, or assets.
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Reuters reported the initial offer, while the Associated Press covered the board’s rejection.
What exactly was Musk trying to buy?
“Musk bids to buy OpenAI” is useful shorthand, but it can be misleading. The target was not simply the ChatGPT app or a conventional standalone corporation. The proposal concerned the nonprofit entity that controlled OpenAI’s for-profit operating structure—or, depending on the description used, the nonprofit’s assets or controlling position.
OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research organization. It later created a for-profit operating structure to raise capital and commercialize its technology. The nonprofit’s continuing control, and OpenAI’s plan to restructure that arrangement, became the central issue in Musk’s legal dispute with the company.
That structure matters financially and legally. A bid for the nonprofit’s controlling position is not automatically the same as purchasing every OpenAI product, employee, contract, subsidiary, or commercial interest. It also does not mean the $97.4 billion figure represented the market value of ChatGPT alone.
Axios explained the target as the nonprofit controlling OpenAI, while The Washington Post described the offer in the context of OpenAI’s corporate restructuring.
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Who was behind the proposal?
Musk led the group, and xAI participated. Contemporary coverage also identified Baron Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, 8VC, and an investment vehicle connected to Ari Emanuel.
Those names should be treated as a reported list of consortium participants, not as proof that each investor committed an equal share of the proposed $97.4 billion. “Musk-led consortium” is more precise than saying Musk personally financed the entire offer.
xAI’s involvement prompted speculation that a successful deal might eventually have resulted in some combination of the two companies. That was hypothetical, however. No xAI-OpenAI merger was announced or completed as a result of the bid.
Contemporaneous coverage compiled the reported investor list.
Why did Musk make the bid?
Musk publicly presented the proposal as an effort to restore what he described as OpenAI’s original mission. His stated objectives included returning the organization to a stronger emphasis on open-source development, safety, and public benefit.
That was Musk’s stated rationale, not an established prediction of what a Musk-controlled OpenAI would actually have done. The offer did not itself guarantee a particular licensing model, research policy, or safety framework.
The bid also had a clear legal and competitive context:
- Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman and others in 2015, then left the organization in 2018.
- Musk was suing OpenAI and Altman over the company’s direction and proposed restructuring.
- His offer put additional pressure on OpenAI’s nonprofit governance and plans to move toward a more conventional for-profit structure.
- Musk operated xAI, a direct competitor to OpenAI.
These facts do not establish that the offer was either purely mission-driven or purely commercial. They explain why the proposal mattered beyond its headline price: it challenged who should control OpenAI and how its charitable origins should affect its future.
How did Sam Altman and OpenAI respond?
Sam Altman responded publicly with a joke: no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.
The figure referenced Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, for approximately $44 billion.
Altman’s comment was not the formal corporate decision. OpenAI’s board unanimously rejected the offer on February 14, saying that OpenAI was not for sale. Board chairman Bret Taylor said the planned restructuring would strengthen the nonprofit and its mission.
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That distinction is important: Altman mocked the offer publicly, but the board—not Altman acting alone—made the formal rejection.
TechCrunch covered Altman’s response and the initial proposal. Axios reported the board’s rejection.
How did the offer relate to Musk’s lawsuit?
Musk’s lawsuit argued that OpenAI had departed from its founding nonprofit mission by pursuing a more profit-oriented structure. His consortium’s offer simultaneously proposed to buy the nonprofit’s assets or controlling position.
OpenAI argued that the bid appeared inconsistent with the theory of Musk’s lawsuit: in the company’s view, Musk was objecting to charitable assets being transferred for private gain while offering to acquire those assets himself.
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That is OpenAI’s legal argument, not a judicial finding that resolved the dispute. The broader point is that the bid was part of an ongoing governance and legal conflict rather than an isolated takeover approach.
Reuters reported OpenAI’s argument about the relationship between the lawsuit and bid. OpenAI’s later court filing provides additional legal context.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was the bid later withdrawn?
Not in the simple sense implied by some headlines. After the offer was submitted, Musk’s lawyers said the consortium would withdraw it if OpenAI stopped its conversion to a for-profit entity and preserved the nonprofit structure.
The sequence was:
- The Musk-led consortium submitted the unsolicited offer on February 10, 2025.
- Musk’s lawyers stated that the bid could be withdrawn if OpenAI abandoned the proposed restructuring and accepted specified charitable terms.
- OpenAI’s board unanimously rejected the offer on February 14.
Calling the proposal merely “withdrawn” leaves out the board’s formal rejection. The clearest description is that OpenAI rejected the offer, while the consortium had separately offered a conditional path to withdrawal.
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The reported withdrawal condition was tied directly to the restructuring dispute.
What did the bid change?
It did not change ownership or control of OpenAI. Its significance was strategic and legal:
- Governance pressure: The offer challenged OpenAI’s proposed transition away from its existing nonprofit-controlled structure.
- Competitive pressure: xAI’s participation highlighted the direct rivalry between Musk’s company and OpenAI.
- Legal pressure: The proposal gave the dispute over OpenAI’s mission and charitable assets a concrete financial dimension.
- Public attention: The bid made the nonprofit-versus-for-profit conflict easier to understand as a question of control, not merely corporate paperwork.
It should not be used as proof that OpenAI was worth exactly $97.4 billion. An offer reflects the bidder’s proposed price and terms; it is not automatically an independent valuation or a completed transaction.
The bottom line for readers
Musk’s group submitted a genuine, unsolicited offer on February 10, 2025, but the offer targeted OpenAI’s nonprofit controlling entity rather than simply buying ChatGPT. OpenAI’s board rejected it unanimously on February 14. The result was no acquisition, no change in control, and no merger with xAI—only another major development in the legal, governance, and competitive fight over OpenAI’s future.
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