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Elon Musk’s all-cash bid to buy OpenAI debunks arguments he’s making in court that the artificial intelligence startup’s assets cannot be “transferred away” for “private gain,” lawyers for the maker of ChatGPT and chief executive officer Sam Altman said in a court filing.
An unsolicited February 10 offer by Musk and a coalition of deep-pocketed investors to acquire OpenAI for US$97,4 billion shows that his request for a court order immediately blocking OpenAI’s conversion to a for-profit business is “an improper bid to undermine a competitor,” according to the filing Wednesday in federal court in Oakland, California.
The legal battle between billionaires Musk and Altman over OpenAI’s structure began last year.
They await a ruling by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Musk’s request to halt OpenAI’s restructuring plans, while he pursues claims that the startup’s relationship with Microsoft Corp. violates antitrust law.
In response to OpenAI’s filing, Tesla’s chief executive officer told the court he’d drop his bid for OpenAI if the company halts its restructuring. Altman rejected the proposal before OpenAI’s board had even seen it, Musk’s legal team said.
That is a breach of fiduciary duty, the lawyers argued.
“If OpenAI, Inc.’s Board is prepared to preserve the charity’s mission and stipulate to take the ‘for sale’ sign off its assets by halting its conversion, Musk will withdraw the bid,” the lawyers said in a filing.
“Otherwise, the charity must be compensated by what an arms-length buyer will pay for its assets,” the team said in a document filed on Wednesday. — Bloomberg.
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