Elon Musk recently posted a clip from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s testimony at a US Senate hearing in May 2023, where Altman said that he held no equity in OpenAI and was motivated purely by goodwill. Musk accompanied the clip with a pointed remark, calling Altman “Scam Altman.” The video was shared hours later Altman dismissed his takeover bid to acquire control of OpenAI’s nonprofit arm.
Recently, a group of investors led by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made a USD 97.4 billion bid to acquire the assets of OpenAI, The New York Times reported. The consortium included Vy Capital and Xai, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, as well as the Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel and other investors.
In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took a jibe at the offer on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” What makes Sam’s post interesting is the value that he is quoting to buy Twitter at. In September 2024, Musk’s $44 billion Twitter was valued at $9.4 billion as per asset manager Fidelity.
Musk replied to Altman’s post with “Swindler”.
The backstory of Elon Musk-Sam Altman rivalry
The dispute traces back to a 2017 power struggle at OpenAI. Musk reportedly sought to become CEO, but co-founders rejected the idea, fearing his dual role as a major investor and chief executive would grant him excessive control. The position ultimately went to Sam Altman, who remains CEO, aside from a brief ouster in 2023.
Musk’s relationship with OpenAI soured further after it introduced a for-profit arm in 2019 to secure funding for the massive computational resources needed to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI). OpenAI has presented internal emails showing Musk initially supported the idea of a for-profit structure, a claim Musk disputes.