Sam Altman Throws Shade at Elon Musk Over $97.4 Billion OpenAI Bid

Sam Altman, the OpenAI head honcho, just threw some major shade at Elon Musk over his surprise $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI. Speaking to Bloomberg TV at the Paris AI summit, Altman accused Musk of trying to slow down the competition and suggested the Tesla mogul might not be the happiest camper. “Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity,” Altman remarked, adding, “I really do feel for him. Actually, I don’t think he’s a happy person.”

In a classic case of corporate chess, Musk’s bid aims to turn OpenAI back into an “open-source, safety-focused force for good.” However, Altman isn’t buying it. He thinks Musk is just trying to play the slow game, saying, “I think he’s probably just trying to slow us down. He’s obviously a competitor…trying to compete with us from a technological perspective.”

Altman wishes Musk would stop the legal antics and just build a better product instead. “I think there have been a lot of tactics — many, many lawsuits, all sorts of other crazy stuff coming out of this,” he noted, feigning a sigh of frustration while keeping his cool. When asked about Musk’s bid, he casually responded, “Not particularly,” as if he were contemplating whether or not to order guacamole at a taco truck.

The feud runs deeper than this comic strip-sized rivalry; after Musk cut ties with OpenAI in 2018, he’s been taking jabs at Altman. Following Musk’s legal drama against Altman (which was dismissed faster than you can say ‘AI cheese’), Altman shrugged it off like a bad haircut, insisting it’s all an attempt to derail OpenAI’s momentum.

Meanwhile, as the political grapevine twists with Musk’s ties to Donald Trump, Altman’s taking it all in stride. When asked about Musk’s influence, he chuckled: “Maybe I should be worried. But not particularly. I try to just wake up and think about how we’re going to make our technology better.” Sounds like he’s got his eyes on the prize, and it sure isn’t on whether or not Musk is happy!

Sam Altman responded to Elon Musk’s surprise $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI, claiming it’s merely a tactic to stall competition. He questioned Musk’s happiness, suggesting the Tesla CEO’s aggression stems from insecurity. Despite Musk’s call for OpenAI to return to its open-source roots, Altman dismissed the bid, reiterating that OpenAI is “not for sale.” Tensions between them have escalated over the years, and Altman seems unfazed by Musk’s political clout.