Elon Musk and a group of investors have made a huge $97.4 billion offer to buyOpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Musk, who helped start OpenAI but later left, says he wants to bring it back to its original mission, making AI open-source and focused on safety. This move reignites his long-standing disagreements with OpenAI's current leadership.

However, taking over OpenAI won’t be easy for Musk, especially since CEO Sam Altman is standing in his way. Altman even mocked Musk’s offer on Musk’s own social media platform, joking, "No thank you, but we’ll buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want." This was a dig at Musk’s $44 billion Twitter purchase in 2022, which later dropped in value.

Musk didn’t hold back after Altman’s joke. He fired back with a sharp comment, calling him a “Swindler.” Soon after, he posted a video of Altman with the caption “Scam Altman.”

Elon Musk and Altman rivalry

The tension between Musk and Altman isn’t new, it’s been growing for years. Musk, who helped start OpenAI but later became one of its biggest critics, believes Altman is more focused on making money than ensuring AI is developed ethically. Their rivalry rose in 2023 when Musk launched his own AI company, xAI, to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It got even worse in 2024 when Musk sued OpenAI over its deep ties with Microsoft.

In 2025, Musk and Altman’s rivalry became even more intense when Stargate, a $500 billion AI project, was announced by former U.S. President Donald Trumpand Altman. Trump praised Altman’s leadership, but Musk was highly sceptical. He dismissed Stargate as a bad financial move and took personal shots at Altman on X. Altman didn’t hold back either, he questioned Musk’s motives, turning their long-running AI battle into a highly public and politically charged showdown.