OpenAI has categorically rejected Elon Musk’s proposed $97.4 billion takeover offer, saying it was “not a bid at all.”
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In a letter to Musk’s attorney, OpenAI’s lawyer William Savitt said that OpenAI’s board of directors had reviewed the proposal and determined that it is not in the best interest of OpenAI’s mission and is “rejected.” OpenAI added that the decision by its board is “unanimous.”
In a written statement released to the media, OpenAI Board Chair Bret Taylor said that the company “is not for sale.” The rejection comes days after Musk and a group of investors offered to buy artificial intelligence (AI) startup OpenAI for $97.4 billion. Musk has said he wants to return the startup to its nonprofit roots.
‘No Thank You’
Shortly after Musk’s offer was made, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, “No thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Musk is the owner of X/Twitter. Musk then referred to Altman in his own post on X as “Scam Altman.”
Musk, and others, claim to be concerned with Altman’s plans to shift OpenAI to a for-profit business model. Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI but have had a falling out over the direction of the company. Musk is currently suing OpenAI over breach of contract and to try and prevent its transition to a for-profit structure.
Neither OpenAI or X are publicly traded companies.
Is TSLA Stock a Buy?
Given the privately held nature of OpenAI and X, we’ll look instead at the stock of electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA), which Elon Musk also owns and that it the main source of his wealth. Tesla stock currently has a consensus Hold rating among 35 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 13 Buy, 12 Hold, and 10 Sell recommendations issued in the last three months. The average TSLA price target of $340.50 implies 4.31% downside risk from current levels.
