Elon Musk and a group of investors have made a $97.4 billion takeover bid for the nonprofit foundation behind OpenAI. The move could complicate Sam Altman's plans to transform the company into a for-profit structure.

The offer was submitted on Monday, according to Musk's lawyer Marc Toberoff. OpenAI, originally founded as a non-profit research organization, plans to dissolve its non-profit structure. The valuation of the non-profit entity is a crucial point of contention.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI and invested millions in its early years, left the board in 2018 and has since criticized the company's direction. He sees the planned restructuring as a "betrayal of the original mission" and is attempting to block the transformation with a lawsuit.

It is crucial that the foundation is fairly compensated for what its leaders take from it: control over the transformative technology of our time," said Toberoff.

Altman immediately rejected the offer and wrote on platform X: "No, thanks, but we would buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want." Musk had acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and renamed it X.

An insider at OpenAI described the bid as a "pure PR stunt" with no serious prospect of success. Musk, on the other hand, challenged OpenAI to "prove us wrong." His offer is backed by investors such as xAI, Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, and Vy Capital.

Musk calls for an open auction of the foundation, an idea that OpenAI has so far rejected. Legally, the company has no obligation to sell. Control over OpenAI remains with the foundation, whose goal is to continue its non-profit mission.

The rivalry between Musk and Altman escalates further as both vie for supremacy in AI development. OpenAI plans a 500-billion-dollar AI infrastructure project with SoftBank, while Musk's xAI catches up with billion-dollar funding rounds.