Elon Musk attempted to recruit Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to help finance a near-$100 billion bid to take control of OpenAI earlier this year, according to court documents reported by the Financial Times.
The filing states that Musk discussed a potential partnership with Zuckerberg in February as part of his $97.4 billion proposal for the ChatGPT maker. However, neither Zuckerberg nor Meta signed a letter of intent to participate, the documents noted.
The move would have marked a surprising alliance between two tech billionaires who just last year publicly taunted each other and even flirted with the idea of settling differences in a cage fight, following Meta’s launch of Threads as a rival to Musk’s X platform.
The filing comes amid escalating competition between Musk, Zuckerberg, and OpenAI chief Sam Altman to secure top AI researchers, with all three groups offering lucrative packages to attract talent. OpenAI alleged in the documents that Meta has been “spending heavily” on recruitment, including compensation deals exceeding $100 million for leading AI scientists.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and invested tens of millions of dollars before leaving its board in 2018. He later launched xAI, his own AI venture, in 2023. Earlier this year, he tried to force an auction of the non-profit entity that controls OpenAI before offering to acquire the company outright. His bid was supported by longtime allies including Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, Vy Capital, 8VC, and entertainment executive Ari Emanuel.
OpenAI rejected the approach outright, with people close to the company dismissing it as a publicity stunt, according to the Financial Times.
The takeover attempt is now central to Musk’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI, which he has accused of betraying its founding mission by pursuing a for-profit structure. Although OpenAI has since scaled back those ambitions, it remains controlled by a non-profit board overseeing a commercial subsidiary.
As part of the case, OpenAI has asked the court to compel Meta to turn over documents related to its communications with Musk. Meta has pushed back, arguing that it never joined the bid and that the request should be denied.
