There are no permanent enemies! Musk was revealed to have attempted to woo Zuckerberg for a joint acquisition of OpenAI for $97 billion
In February of this year, Musk attempted to enlist his "archrival" Zuckerberg to jointly acquire OpenAI for $97 billion, although Meta ultimately did not participate. This revelation shocked the public: the two had mocked each other in 2023 due to the competition between Threads and X, even declaring a "cage fight." The possibility of a brief alliance being revealed now highlights the prioritization of interests in the AI race and the rapidly changing nature of friend-enemy relationships
This world never has eternal enemies.
The latest court documents show that in February of this year, Musk attempted to recruit his "arch-rival"—Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to join him in the $97.4 billion acquisition of OpenAI. However, Meta did not sign any letter of intent and did not actually participate in the transaction. The OpenAI board formally rejected Musk's acquisition proposal in February.
If this acquisition were to proceed, it would cause a stir in Silicon Valley. It is worth noting that Musk and Zuckerberg had been publicly sparring in 2023 over the competitive relationship between Threads and X, even once hyping up a "cage fight." Now, the news of a potential brief alliance between them in the AI race highlights the intensity of the artificial intelligence competition and reflects that, in the face of capital and strategic interests, so-called arch-enemies can also become potential allies.
Musk's Complicated Relationship with OpenAI
Musk is one of the co-founders of OpenAI, having invested tens of millions of dollars in its early days, but he left the board in 2018 and established xAI in 2023. Since OpenAI transitioned to a for-profit organization, Musk has been a long-time critic, believing it has strayed from its original philanthropic mission.
In February of this year, Musk first attempted to force an auction of the non-profit entity that ultimately controls OpenAI's business, and then made a direct acquisition offer.
According to court documents, this $97.4 billion acquisition offer received support from Musk's long-term investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, 8VC, and media executive Ari Emanuel, as well as Musk's own company xAI.
However, OpenAI quickly rejected the offer, and insiders viewed this acquisition as a "public relations move" by Musk.
Acquisition Intent May Undermine Musk's Legal Position
The legal dispute between Musk and OpenAI is ongoing. As part of the lawsuit, OpenAI has requested the court to compel Meta to submit relevant records of communications with Musk in the latest court documents. If this evidence is accepted, it may weaken Musk's legal claims.
Previously, he accused Altman of collaborating with Microsoft in a way that deviated from OpenAI's philanthropic mission, but now it has been revealed that he secretly lobbied OpenAI's main competitor to join the acquisition plan, which may contradict his accusations.
In fact, the judge presiding over the case had previously pointed out that if Musk had attempted to merge OpenAI into Tesla or push for its transformation into a for-profit entity, those efforts themselves could undermine his accusations against Altman and OpenAI.
Meta has urged the court to dismiss OpenAI's request, emphasizing: "Meta neither participated in Musk's acquisition offer, nor could its documents possibly contain evidence of so-called 'coordination' with Musk, nor is there any information about Meta attempting to acquire OpenAI or anything related."
The Competition for AI Talent Among Tech Giants Intensifies
Behind this acquisition attempt is the fierce competition among tech giants for AI talent. Court documents show that Meta is "making significant investments" in its own AI research and is willing to offer top researchers from OpenAI and other companies salaries exceeding $100 million to attract them.
Musk, Zuckerberg, and Altman have recently been in direct competition in the AI talent market, poaching core team members from each other in a bid to gain an edge in the race to develop the next generation of artificial intelligence models.
More dramatically, Musk and Zuckerberg have historically had a tense relationship in public.
Especially in 2023, when Zuckerberg launched Threads to compete with Musk's X platform, the two engaged in mutual mockery on social media and even hyped up the "cage fight" incident. In this context, Musk's attempt to woo Zuckerberg to jointly acquire OpenAI is undoubtedly surprising
