Elon Musk’s $97.4 Billion Takeover Proposal for OpenAI to Meta Raises Legal Concerns and Allegations of Harassment
In early 2025, court documents unveiled that Elon Musk, currently the world’s wealthiest individual, approached Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an attempt to secure financing for a proposed $97.4 billion acquisition of OpenAI.
This development comes amidst an ongoing legal dispute between Musk and OpenAI, initiated last year in a federal court in Northern California. A recent ruling by the judge allowed OpenAI to advance its counterclaims against Musk, who co-founded the non-profit organization alongside Sam Altman and others in 2015.
Tensions between Musk and Altman, former allies and now adversaries, escalated when OpenAI began exploring a transition to a for-profit model. This shift has been met with opposition from Musk, who founded xAI in 2023 with the intention of competing directly with OpenAI.
In response, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, citing a breach of contract and seeking to prevent the company’s transition. In its counterclaim, OpenAI alleges that Musk’s actions, including litigation and public attacks, have caused harm to its business.
As part of its complaint, OpenAI has requested Meta to produce communications regarding the takeover bid between the companies, Zuckerberg, and Musk.
In a statement submitted to the court on Thursday, OpenAI disclosed that during efforts to form a consortium of investors for the acquisition, Musk and xAI reached out to Zuckerberg with a letter of intent, inquiring about potential financing arrangements or investments. However, neither Zuckerberg nor Meta signed the LOI, according to the filing.
Meta declined to comment on the matter when approached by reporters. Marc Toberoff, Musk’s attorney in this case, did not respond to a request for comment.
The court filing also stated that Meta has been investing heavily in AI capabilities and has offered substantial compensation packages, upwards of $100 million, to leading AI researchers, as well as attempting to recruit OpenAI employees.
Meta maintains that OpenAI’s requests for documents are excessive and proposes that relevant communications from Musk and xAI should be obtained instead.