--- title: "Elon Musk Reportedly Tried to Take Over OpenAI Several Years Ago, But Failed" description: "Elon Musk reportedly tried to takeover as OpenAI's CEO back in 2018. But when the rest of the company's board allegedly vetoed his proposal, he walked away." date: "2023-03-25" modified: "2023-03-25" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-takeover-openai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "OpenAI" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Reportedly Tried to Take Over OpenAI Several Years Ago, But Failed ![Elon Musk reportedly tried to takeover as OpenAI's CEO back in 2018. But when the rest of the company's board allegedly vetoed his proposal, he walked away.]() *\Image: David McNew via Getty / Futurism\* ## Tea's Hot Like everyone else in the tech industry, SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has [had a lot to say]() about OpenAI in recent weeks — as he probably should, considering that he was one of the firm's original founders, launching the [former non-profit]() back in 2015 alongside figures like Reid Hoffman, Ilya Sutskever and, among others, OpenAI's current CEO, Sam Altman. And honestly, most of what Musk has had to say about the firm lately has been pretty fair. He's taken to Twitter several times now to criticize the now-not-so-open-OpenAI for [going back on its non-profit, open-source roots](), a grievance that's been [widely echoed]() elsewhere within the industry. A valid complaint indeed. But apparently, Musk's OpenAI woes might be a bit more complicated than an ideological battle between two former colleagues. According [to a report from *Semafor*](), sources familiar with the matter claim that before leaving the company in 2018, Musk, who believed that OpenAI had fallen woefully behind Google's AI labs and needed major changes, actually tried to take over as company CEO. After an internal power struggle, they say the company's board — Altman included — vetoed Musk's proposal. And in response, sources say, Musk walked away completely. ## Check Please But the purported rift between Musk and Altman didn't end when the SpaceX founder left. Per *Semafor's* reporting, Musk's departure — which at the time was publicly chalked up to a conflict of interest, with Musk claiming that there was too much competition between OpenAI and Tesla for top industry talent — seems like where it all began. As one of the firm's founders, Musk had pledged the then-non-profit organization a significant amount of cash (as *Semafor* notes, the original founders put together a collective billion dollars.) When he vacated his seat, those donations were meant to continue. "Elon Musk will depart the OpenAI Board," reads the February 2018 OpenAI [blog post]() that announced Musk's departure, "but will continue to donate and advise the organization." But Musk's donations *didn't* continue, according to *Semafor's* sources. And AI, as it's trained on massive datasets, isn't cheap; [roughly a year]() after the Tesla CEO's departure, OpenAI would change to for-profit status. Six months after that, Microsoft made its first [billion-dollar]() investment into the firm. And the rest, as they say, [is history](). These are all just allegations, of course. If true, though, they'd add quite a bit of [extra flavor]() to Musk's recent anti-OpenAI comments — especially considering that he's said to be [launching his own AI firm](). **READ MORE:** [*The secret history of Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and OpenAI*]() \[*Semafo*r\] **More on OpenAI's Musk-less tech:** [*Elon Musk Is Super Pissed OpenAI Became Successful after He Left*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()