Sam Altman hits back amid OpenAI buyout bid: ‘Elon Musk insecure, not a happy person’

Musk, in turn, fired back, calling Altman a “swindler.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has dismissed Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion buyout bid for the AI startup, calling it an attempt made “from a position of insecurity.” The exchange marks an escalation in the rivalry between the two tech billionaires.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Paris AI Summit, Altman told Bloomberg Television, “Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity. I feel for the guy. I don’t think he’s a happy person.”

According to reports, a group of investors led by 'Musk has submitted an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI’s assets. The offer was revealed by Musk’s attorney Marc Toberoff, who stated that the Tesla CEO had secured backing from prominent investors, including Joe Lonsdale's 8VC, Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel.

Altman, however, categorically rejected the offer, reiterating that OpenAI is “not for sale.” He accused Musk of attempting to “slow us down” rather than competing by building a better product. “There have been a lot of tactics, many lawsuits, and all sorts of other crazy stuff—now this,” Altman told The New York Post.

Responding to Musk’s bid on X, Altman took a swipe at the billionaire’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition, stating, “No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

Musk, in turn, fired back, calling Altman a “swindler.”

In a statement, Musk said it was “time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was.” His attorney suggested that if a deal were to go through, OpenAI could potentially merge with Musk’s own AI venture, xAI.

The bid comes at a time when OpenAI is in talks to secure a $40 billion funding deal, led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. If completed, this funding round would push OpenAI’s valuation to $300 billion—significantly higher than what Musk’s group has proposed.

As per reports, OpenAI has yet to formally review Musk’s offer. If successful, Musk’s bid could complicate OpenAI’s funding efforts, placing the company among the most valuable private firms globally, alongside Musk’s SpaceX and TikTok parent ByteDance.