OpenAI Questions Rationale of Elon Musk’s Bid to Control the Company
The company answered the billionaire’s offer in a legal filing, accusing him of hypocrisy.
The company answered the billionaire’s offer in a legal filing, accusing him of hypocrisy.
OpenAI’s board of directors on Wednesday questioned the rationale of a $97.4 billion bid from Elon Musk and others to gain control of the high-profile artificial intelligence company.
On Monday, a consortium of investors led by Mr. Musk offered to buy the assets of the nonprofit that controls the company, escalating a yearslong feud between Mr. Musk and OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman.
In a court filing on Wednesday, the company said Mr. Musk’s bid contradicted legal claims the billionaire made in a lawsuit he brought against OpenAI last year. OpenAI argued in its filing that Mr. Musk said in his lawsuit the assets must remain with the nonprofit and could not be transferred to another entity for public gain.
The company is essentially accusing Mr. Musk of hypocrisy. In his lawsuit, he argued OpenAI must be governed by the nonprofit. Now, OpenAI contends, he is arguing the opposite.
The OpenAI board has not yet formally rejected the bid.
Marc Toberoff, a Los Angeles lawyer who filed the lawsuit against OpenAI on behalf of Mr. Musk, said in a statement to The New York Times on Wednesday: “The lawsuit is not about who controls OpenAI. It’s about Sam Altman and OpenAI’s misconduct.”
If OpenAI’s board “is prepared to stipulate to take the ‘For Sale’ sign off the charity’s assets in its so-called ‘conversion,’ Musk will withdraw his bid,” Mr. Toberoff added, referring to OpenAI’s efforts to sever itself from the nonprofit’s control. “But, of course, OpenAI will never do that.”
