According to the latest court filings submitted by OpenAI, Tesla CEO Elon Musk attempted to invite Meta Platforms, Inc. (META.US) CEO Mark Zuckerberg to jointly participate in his initiated acquisition bid for OpenAI earlier this year. According to the documents, Musk confirmed in financing communications that Zuckerberg was among the partners he had discussed the deal with, though Meta Platforms, Inc. and its executives ultimately did not sign any letters of intent nor substantially participate in the $97.4 billion acquisition offer. OpenAI's board formally rejected the proposal in February of this year.
The legal dispute between Musk and OpenAI continues to escalate. This tech entrepreneur, who co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman a decade ago, established competing company xAI after leaving the board and has filed two lawsuits. He alleges that OpenAI has deviated from its non-profit origins and abandoned its charitable mission, requesting the court to block its plans to transition to a traditional for-profit enterprise.
The disclosed bidding details may impact his legal claims - judges have previously noted that Musk's own attempts to merge OpenAI into Tesla or promote its commercialization present a logical contradiction with his accusations that Altman betrayed the mission.
Regarding the latest developments, OpenAI has petitioned the court to obtain all relevant communication records between Meta Platforms, Inc. and Musk, attempting to prove the validity of its claims. However, Meta Platforms, Inc. clearly opposes this request, emphasizing that the company neither participated in acquisition negotiations nor had "substantial" contact with Musk, and that relevant evidence should be obtained from actual participants rather than Meta Platforms, Inc.
Currently, neither Musk's team nor Meta Platforms, Inc. have commented on the matter, while OpenAI stated it would only make statements regarding court document contents. This battle over strategic control in the artificial intelligence sector is evolving into a complex legal war between tech giants and startups.
As the case proceedings advance, Musk's attempts to reshape industry dynamics through acquisition, the validity of his accusations, and the balance between corporate transformation and founding mission will become core focal points of courtroom debate.