Elon Musk’s $97 Billion Power Move: OpenAI Says “No Thanks” and Claps Back Hard

In a plot twist straight out of Silicon Valley drama, Elon Musk just tried to buy OpenAI for a staggering $97.4 billion—but Sam Altman wasn’t having it. Instead of even considering the offer, the OpenAI CEO fired back with a brutal counteroffer on Elon’s own platform, X:

“No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

That’s billionaire-level petty at its finest.

Musk vs. OpenAI: The Battle for AI’s Future

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but walked away three years later, says he wants to bring the company back to its roots—open-source AI and public safety. Through his legal team, he declared:

> “It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was. We will make sure that happens.”

But let’s be real—Musk has been one of OpenAI’s loudest critics ever since the company pivoted from a nonprofit to a capped-profit giant in 2019. He’s called out its massive valuation (targeting $300 billion) and its money-making machine (projected $11.6 billion in revenue this year).

Meanwhile, Altman is pushing his own vision—one that’s less about profit and more about accessibility. He recently proposed a "compute budget", aiming to democratize AI and prevent it from being controlled by a handful of tech elites.

> “The balance of power between capital and labor could easily get messed up,” Altman warned, hinting at the potential for AI to widen the wealth gap.

OpenAI’s Super Bowl Power Play

While Musk plots a hostile takeover, OpenAI is busy securing its place in the public consciousness. They just dropped $14 million on a Super Bowl ad, marking their biggest marketing push yet.

The ad, led by CMO Kate Rouch, took viewers on a visual journey through human innovation—from the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel to AI-powered language tutors and business planners. The twist? Despite being an AI company, OpenAI used zero AI-generated visuals in the final ad, relying entirely on human artists to craft the message.

> “We wanted it to be a celebration of human creativity,” Rouch explained.

What’s Next?

Musk isn’t one to back down, and with OpenAI’s soaring valuation, this battle for AI dominance is far from over. Will he make another move, or is this just another chapter in the ongoing feud?

One thing’s for sure—AI is the new gold rush, and the stakes have never been higher.