Elon Musk to withdraw OpenAI bid if board agrees to charity terms, lawyers say

Tesla CEO Elon Musk will withdraw his $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI's non-profit arm if the ChatGPT maker does not become a for-profit entity, lawyers for Musk said in a court filing on Wednesday.

"If (the) OpenAI board is prepared to preserve the charity's mission and stipulate to take the "for sale" sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid," the filing said.

If not, "the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets."


Musk's "serious offer" was for the furtherance of the charity's mission, the filing said.

OpenAI and Musk did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside regular business hours.

The non-profit that controls OpenAI is not for sale, CEO Sam Altman told Reuters on Tuesday. Earlier on Wednesday, OpenAI said Musk's bid clashes with his lawsuit arguing that assets of the ChatGPT maker should not be for private gain.

Musk sued Altman and others in August and has asked a U.S. district judge to block OpenAI's attempt to transition to a for-profit entity.

Also Read: ET Explainer: Elon Musk-led group offers $97.4 billion to buy Open AI