Contradiction between one's own business behavior and litigation claims? Musk once invited Meta to jointly acquire OpenAI

Zhitong
2025.08.22 03:54
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk once invited Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to jointly participate in the bidding for the acquisition of OpenAI, but Meta did not sign any letter of intent. OpenAI has rejected the proposal, and Musk's legal disputes with OpenAI have escalated, accusing OpenAI of deviating from its non-profit mission. The details of this bidding may affect Musk's litigation claims, as OpenAI has requested to obtain communication records between Meta and Musk, which Meta opposes. This incident reflects the complex legal battles between tech giants and startups

According to Zhitong Finance APP, OpenAI disclosed in its latest court filing that Tesla CEO Elon Musk attempted to invite Meta (META.US) CEO Mark Zuckerberg to jointly participate in his proactively initiated bid to acquire OpenAI this year. According to the document, Musk confirmed in financing communications that Zuckerberg was one of the collaborators he discussed the deal with, but Meta and its executives ultimately did not sign any letter of intent and did not substantively participate in the acquisition offer, which amounted to $97.4 billion. The OpenAI board officially rejected the proposal in February this year.

Currently, Musk's legal disputes with OpenAI are escalating. The tech entrepreneur, who co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman a decade ago, established the competitor xAI after leaving the board and has filed two lawsuits, accusing OpenAI of deviating from its non-profit mission and abandoning its charitable purpose, seeking to prevent the court from allowing its transition to a traditional for-profit company.

The disclosed details of the bidding may impact his legal claims—previously, the judge pointed out that Musk's own attempts to merge OpenAI with Tesla or promote its commercialization contradict his accusations against Altman of betraying the mission.

In response to the latest developments, OpenAI has requested the court to obtain all relevant communication records between Meta and Musk, attempting to prove the validity of its claims. However, Meta has explicitly opposed this request, emphasizing that the company neither participated in the bidding negotiations nor had "substantive significance" in its contact with Musk, and that relevant evidence should be obtained from actual participants rather than Meta.

Currently, neither Musk's team nor Meta has commented on the incident, while OpenAI stated that it would only issue a statement regarding the content of the court documents.

This struggle for strategic control in the field of artificial intelligence is evolving into a complex legal battle between tech giants and startups. As the case progresses, Musk's attempts to reshape the industry landscape through acquisition, the validity of his accusations, and the balance between corporate transformation and founding mission will become the core focus of courtroom debates

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