Elon Musk’s bid to buy OpenAI included pitch to Meta’s CEO, court documents show

Elon Musk sought to involve Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., in his unsolicited bid to acquire OpenAI earlier this year, a recent court filing by the AI startup confirmed.

The filing discloses that Musk identified Zuckerberg as one of the individuals he contacted regarding potential financing for the $97.4 billion bid to purchase the maker of ChatGPT, Bloomberg reports.

OpenAI clarified that neither Zuckerberg nor Meta signed the letter of intent nor participated in Musk’s offer. The company’s board formally rejected the bid in February. Neither Musk nor his representatives immediately responded to requests for comment, while Meta declined to comment. OpenAI also declined to provide further statements beyond the court filing.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman a decade ago before launching his rival AI startup xAI, has been engaged in an ongoing legal dispute with OpenAI. He has repeatedly attempted to block OpenAI’s restructuring into a more conventional for-profit entity, filing two lawsuits alleging that the company has deviated from its founding charitable principles. Musk has asked the court to halt OpenAI’s restructuring efforts.

The revelation that Musk attempted to quietly enlist one of OpenAI’s primary competitors in his acquisition effort could undermine his legal assertions that Altman’s partnership with Microsoft betrayed OpenAI’s original charitable mission. The presiding judge has previously noted that “efforts by Musk to incorporate OpenAI into Tesla or to convert it into a for-profit company are relevant because they may be inconsistent” with Musk’s claims against Altman and OpenAI.

In the filing submitted on August 21, OpenAI requested that the court compel Meta to produce documents related to any communications between the tech giant and Musk. Meta urged the court to deny this request, stating, “Meta’s documents can hold no evidence of ‘coordination’ with Musk, or of Meta’s purported attempt to purchase OpenAI, or of any other relevant information when Meta did not join Musk’s bid.” The company further argued, “Meta’s communications (if any) with entities that did join the bid also hold little to no relevance, and in any event, should be sought from those entities, not Meta, which did not participate.”

As the legal battle continues, this new disclosure adds a complex layer to the contentious dispute surrounding the future of OpenAI and the ambitions of one of its original founders.

By Vafa Guliyeva